...week one...

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

If I could characterize my first week in DC (Actually, NoVa, as I believe it is called), I could sum it up as being filled with moments of unmistakable grace.

After more than a year of praying, crying, talking about, more crying, and even more praying over this move, as well as moment after moment of God clearly affirming it all along the way, I faced a different kind of anxiousness this week. After everything had been moved in, put away, and hung up on the walls, I suddenly found myself with no plan, no direction, no agenda. One morning, I stood on my balcony with my coffee, and the only thing that was running through my mind was, "Oh, crap." (I can be so articulate sometimes.)

But I'm thankful that I serve a gracious (and oh-so-patient) God Who never tires of my questions and doubts. That night, I went to a praise and worship service with my roommate (who is another gracious gift from God), and the main message was about our anxieties and fears. I couldn't help being brought to tears to think that my God was speaking to me through those words.

Being the grammar nerd that I am, I also can't help but notice the indefinite pronouns in those verses from Philippians: "Do not be anxious about ANYTHING, but in EVERYTHING...present your requests to God." I remember I used to think that those verses were kind of like an impossible command. But as I've learned to trust more and more in my Savior, I realize that He only wants to lavish His grace on us. Anxieties get in the way of us experiencing all that God has in store for us.

All that I really know is that I am committed to seeking Him, not fixing my problems or filling my calendar. Ten or twenty years from now, when I look back on my life during this time of uncertainty, I want it to be with a fond remembrance of how I savored the grace that God poured into my life.