The Transition

I've been in Akron for two days. Four days ago I woke up in Southwest Philadelphia and said goodbye to an intense year of learning and loving. I said goodbye to people, place, and a structured life where my values and actions aligned most closely.

Now I find myself in Akron, and though it is so lovely to be back in this city, I find myself wondering: "What does it look like to live in the values I did in Mission Year here in Akron? Do I still want to live into these values? What do I want my life to look like here?"

I'll be writing much the next few weeks, processing this past year of my life. To me it's fascinating to be in the same place I started before Mission Year (location wise), and how though I am in the same place, I am a different person. There is much I learned and saw that I cannot forget, and a lot of these next few months will be naming what I learned and finding a new normal in Akron after this intense year. As far as I'm aware, a majority of the people who follow my blog are people either from Akron, or connected to a city that is similar in many ways to Akron. I see cool opportunity to invite you all into my processing as I discover Akron in a new way, and seek what it looks like to love God and to love people here in the 330.
 
I want to share this transition period with you not because I have to, but because I want to. Many of you reading probably supported me in some way through Mission Year--through reading my newsletter or supporting me financially. A lot of what I will be working through in the upcoming weeks is directly correlated with my experiences of this past year. To think that the journey ends at the conclusion of the year is not true. My journey towards a deeper understanding and breathing of Shalom and a greater intimacy with Jesus began far before Mission Year started and will continue long after I'm out of the program. God has worked in mighty ways in my life this past year, and I think the best way to invite you into that is through sharing. 

To be honest, my hope is that in sharing, change will occur in you, reader, as we journey together. Maybe you'll discover your hometown in a new way just as I re-discover mine! Maybe you'll think more about what it looks like to love God and love people right in your own sphere of influence and I seek to do so in my Akron sphere. I want these blogs to be a catalyst for conversation, transformation, and change!

I'm writing from a secret space that will be my sanctuary during this season of transition. To me, it's important that I rest the next few weeks and really process the past year rather than charging head first into life in the 330. I'm excited for prayer, for lament, for rekindled intimacy with my Love (Creator). I'm excited for conversations, and coffee, and tears. I'm excited for prophets and poets and art and books and a sweet sense that all is well.

Already there have been sweet glimpses of the Kingdom here in the 330. I'm learning that we need not go far away to be a part of the work of God's kingdom on earth. The kingdom of God is flourishing, alive and well here in our own backyards. 

I can be a part of the work of wholeness and flourishing here in the 330. I can love God and love people here in Akron, Ohio.

You can, too.