A Brief Re-Introduction

It seems that a brief hello is in order.

In 2014, I started this little blog because I found that I had a lot to say and people actually wanted to hear it. (It was maybe only 10 people, but it was people!)

At the time, I worked as a Catholic lay missionary here in the States, with an organization called Life Teen. I had kind of a crazy schedule (as in: not a typical 9:00-5:00), but every day I had time for a holy hour, community prayer with my mission team, and time to write.

Then I entered the professional world. Surprise, surprise—I still had a lot of learning to do, and mostly about myself.

I had grown up so much in missions. So many hurts had been healed by the Lord over those four years of service, and so much self-discovery had happened, like the life-changing fact that I am an introvert. (Introvert Power is a book that forever changed my life.) But despite it all, I actually was surprised that I still had more to learn about myself!

Even amidst the mess of life, we endeavored to do the impossible: love each other as Christ loved us, and stick together through thick and thin.

Thankfully, I lived in a community called the Goretti House. We were a houseful of Catholic women, in varying stages of our twenties, navigating life and work and school and boys and Nashville’s social scene. These girls were my saving grace and my greatest challenge upon leaving missions. We had our challenges and our joys, but I look back now and see straightforward beauty. Even amidst the mess of life, we endeavored to do the impossible: love each other as Christ loved us, and stick together through thick and thin.

Life was changing so much. I had so many new things to learn! Sadly, writing is the thing that fell behind. I continued to write privately, with the odd post here and there, but for the most part, writing became an afterthought, a hobby, a once-in-a-while thing I did to clear my head.

Then in 2017, I was laid off from a job I loved. It was hard, and sad, and terrifying, but a clear, bold truth settled in my gut almost immediately: it was time to leave Nashville.

One thing to know about me is that I have dreamed of living in Nashville since I first visited in 2006. And the fact that I actually got to live there for three years was a sign of God’s immeasurable faithfulness to the desires of our hearts. But the time had come to move on.

But there was no reason that Atlanta couldn’t mean the same thing—that God is faithful always…

I tried to fight this truth. I stubbornly, halfheartedly looked for jobs in Nashville. I even was offered one on the spot after interviewing. But I knew it was futile—like Abraham in the desert, God had come to me and told me it was time to move.

So I followed His lead. I found a job in Atlanta, moved back to Sandy Springs (where I had once lived as a missionary), and for the very first time in my whole life, I lived completely alone.

The first thing I had to learn upon moving back to Atlanta was this: God is still faithful.

Yes, for years, Nashville signified God’s faithfulness to me. But there was no reason that Atlanta couldn’t mean the same thing—that God is faithful always: in and out of season, in and out of Nashville, when I like Him and when I don’t. (Because let’s be real. I love the Lord, but I don’t always like him very much.)

I see how every twist and turn was an invitation to live more deeply into what this blog is all about: surrendering my own plans so that I could take up His plans and live a fuller life than I ever thought possible.

I have learned so much in these last two years back in Atlanta. (Surprise, surprise.) I have done things I never thought I would do. I have learned things I never knew I didn’t know. I have grown and struggled and trudged on and gained weight and lost weight and learned how to be brave in a million new ways.

Looking back, I see how close the Lord was to me through all of this crazy journey. And I see how every twist and turn was an invitation to live more deeply into what this blog is all about: surrendering my own plans so that I could take up His plans and live a fuller life than I ever thought possible.

In the last six months, I have felt the Holy Spirit nudge me toward a new clear, bold truth: It is time to write again.

So hello, reader-friend. My name is Carrie, and it’s good to see you again.

If you’re new here, feel free to get to know me better by reading some of my first blog posts:

Hey, I’m Carrie
Battle Cry
I Said “Great,” Not “Perfect”
What This Blog Isn’t, and What It Is