It’s a strange night for me. Tomorrow my life of 23 years in Madison will draw to a close. I’ve left home, I’ve traveled, but I’ve always come back. It’s weird to think that this time… I won’t be, at least not to stay. Next time I come to Madison I’ll be the visitor. The streets that I know so well and can navigate with my eyes closed are bound to change. Potholes will be in different places, new stoplights, and more lanes. The trees I climbed as a child may be dead and gone. New buildings will
be built. People will move away. It won’t ever feel quite like the Madison that was my home. It’s strange.
Goodbyes are hard, there’s really no way around it. For so long it’s always been, “See ya!” or “Later!” but on many occasions in the past couple days I have found myself about to say that only to realize… that’s not true. I won’t see you, at least not soon. There’s an awkward pause after every goodbye as if there should be more to follow it up. But there’s not. That’s it. Goodbye.
Tomorrow I’ll be landing in a strange city, surrounded by unfamiliar roads, where very few people know my name. It’s exciting and daunting all at the same time. I’m excited to call a new city my home. To learn the streets, bike paths, fun coffee shops and places to eat. To meet knew people and develop new deep relationships. But all of that will take work and time. So as I begin a new life out in Colorado, please be praying that God would surround me with a strong community that would readily draw me in as own of their own, a place to live where I can truly feel at home, a job tha
t I will both enjoy and be challenged by, and the ability to quickly learn the streets of Boulder so that it would begin to feel like home.
Madison – It’s sad to see your story end.
Boulder – I’m excited to see where your story will take me.