Avoiding the Snow

Last Tuesday I stuffed everything I own into my little '96 Honda Accord, including the dog, strapped my bike to the back, and set off for Saint Petersburg, Florida.

It's usually a 12 hour commute from High Point to St. Pete, factoring in the various stops along the way. So, I anticipated arriving around 7:30 that night.

For those of you who do not know, I struggle with directions. And when I say I struggle with directions I mean, "For goodness sake, Grace, can't you go five minutes without turning around!?!" Sadly, I'm not exaggerating.

Example: After about an hour of driving in South Carolina I passed a sign that read "Welcome to North Carolina!"

Sigh.

I ended up spending the night in a hotel in Lake City, Florida because it was getting late and I was feeling just short of exhausted. I drove the remaining three hours on Wednesday morning. By the time I made it to my grandparent's driveway I'm not sure who was more agitated with me, the dog or the car.

But I made it!

The past week has been lovely. St. Pete is a fabulous city. (I think I now understand why my grandparents have spent their entire lives here.) [Side note: In my 19 years, I've lived in over 3 times the number of houses my grandparent's have lived in in their 70 years.]

St. Pete has sidewalks lining the streets to promote walking instead of driving. There are multiple bike trails and dog parks and people parks and shopping centers...so much to do!

Today I indulged in my first Riding the Bike for the Purpose of Transportation to the public library and got myself a library card. It was everything I imagined it would be. It was so much fun and down right cool. (Ironic because I came back sweating.) Riding my bike down the sidewalk I felt both childlike and grown-up at the same time. And then "The New Girl in Town" from Hairspray popped in my head. Watch out people, Grace Gaskill has moved to St. Pete!

My grandparents are a riot. So many shenanigans and fake-outs and unintended adventures...and it's only been a week!

So in a nutshell, I'm loving my new life. So much ahead of me and I have the rest of  my life to explore and learn and experience it all!

Dear Grace,

You’ve finally made it through the seemingly relentless dark and oppressive tunnel. You are on the other side. You are in the light. There may be another tunnel up ahead that you can’t see yet, but stay on this path. Don’t detour because of the possibility of another tunnel.

I’m proud of you. You’ve fought. You’ve conquered. And, you’ve gained experience for the future.

No, your life has not been perfect. You’ve been believing and living lies for far too long. But that has ended. You are now aware of the lies being fed to you, but you are not believing them, and you are no longer living them.

You have learned your weaknesses and the areas where you need to be even more on guard, because the devil is prowling around waiting for you to become unaware so he can devour you. Stand firm. You are strong.

God, in His great mercy, has brought you to the end of yourself. He gave you the opportunity to take off everything that was old and disgusting. And you did. You allowed Him to clean you and renew you and reveal to you what was hiding underneath. And now He has clothed you in beautiful garments.  

Again, in His great mercy, He is now leading you away from the places of heartache and giving you a chance to start over. To apply everything you have learned in this period of dark tunnel dwelling.

As you go away from this place, don’t allow bitterness and anger to rise up in you. The past is very real and Satan would love to remind you of it. But the past is just that…something long gone. However, please never forget the past. Never forget what God brought you through and what He taught you. Remember the past but focus on what lies ahead.

From this day forth you are the new and improved Grace Noelle. The old Grace is gone. You are confident and you have an assurance in Him. You have a lot to offer to this world. Don’t hold back. Be who He made you to be. You are ready.

Sincerely,

The New Grace

Not-So Blank Wall

God has painted my wall in a way I would have never imagined. He has painted in the areas higher than I can reach. He has painted further to the left and the right. For now, I still only see a small portion in comparison to how large this wall really is. But He has painted enough for me to see the next step forward.

God is taking me to St. Petersburg, Florida. All the plans are not laid out in a perfect cookie-cutter way. (The old Grace would have bucked and jumped at the idea of loose ends being untied.) I do know that I’ll be living with my grandparents and going to school. But the rest is up to God. He’ll reveal the rest in His time. While I wait, I’ll continue to explore and discover more of who He made me to be.

I’m excited. I’m grateful. I’m blessed.

And I’m anticipating what lies ahead.