Leaving the Nest

This morning was my last day as a BrazosPointe Fellowship All-Stars volunteer.

I introduced my kids to their new team-time leader, Kim. And then, at the end of the morning, Kathy pulled me up front to have the kids say good-bye.

I hadn't told the teen leaders, or Jeff. So as Kathy is saying, "Miss Carolyn, come up here," Kyle, one of the high school-aged helpers, yells, "No! No!" And afterwards, Jeff catches me and says, "I had to find out from Kathy?"

I wasn't sure how to tell them. So I didn't.

This new chapter is exciting -- I'm ready to find a community here in Galveston. But it's sad. These people are the reason I settled into Texas so quickly and easily, and I will miss them dearly.

I will miss playing catchphrase at small group. Going out to lunch after church. Dancing around with the kids in All-Stars. Being teased by the high schoolers for being tiny and young-looking. Adorable child-faces looking at me in wonder.

A deep and rich faith community is hard to come by. God put amazing people in my life just when I needed it, as a yankee girl alone in Texas. And then He brought me here. I don't know why; this is certainly not how I imagined my year going. But there it is, and all I can do is embrace it.