It's a Wonderful Life is my favorite movie and the above mentioned quote from that movie is one of my favorite quotes as well. Sometimes we read things or see things in movies and we think, "Wow, that is so true." But thinking it and living it are two different things and last week I lived it.
As I blogged previously last week was the end of my life in Washington, D.C. I had lived there for two and a half years and was unable to find a permanent position. So the day came when I had to make the decision to leave it behind. D.C. had been a struggle for only about a year and some months but I think you just know when things are not working out and it was not working out for me and not worth trying to stay longer to wait out the situation. It was very painful to do because I had envisioned myself living in D.C. for so long and I believed that it was going to be a permanent transition when I moved there from grad school. But D.C. proved to be temporary and in the end I think that was for the best because why should we struggle when we really don't have to.
So last week on Tuesday I set out from New Jersey after getting my gas tank filled up and getting some Dunkin' Doughnuts coffee. On the way there I got a birthday text from one of my best friends, Erin. We met in D.C. when she came to be a part of a protege program at the church we both attended and since there was a coffeehouse connected with the church and she wants to own her own coffeehouse, it worked out perfectly that we worked together at the coffeehouse. We had a year of fun together and she ended up moving back to upstate NY at the end of it but we have stayed in touch. So Erin's text was a surprise and since I was driving I took the chance that she might be available and I would have a chance to talk to her while I was on the road. As it turned out she was available to talk and we had a wonderful conversation while I was driving and she was enjoying a day off from work. I think one of the marks of a true friend is someone that you can easily have a conversation with, even if you have not talked to or seen them in a very long time, and it just feels like you're picking up where you left off. Erin is definitely one of those people for me.
The drive to D.C. went well. I didn't even stop and think I just went full force into getting my apartment cleaned out. I took the bed, the mattress, the feather bed, and the shelves from my apartment to the waste dump in D.C. although I got lost on the way there. Eventually I found it and fortunately before it was time to meet with Chris at NCC.
I made it back to Capitol Hill to meet with Chris that afternoon. It is hard to put into words how wonderful Chris is. He has an amazing testimony and his love and compassion for his family, community, and fellow human beings is awesome. One of my favorite memories was his laughter at the oh-so-convincing role that a fellow pastor, Heather, provided in her portrayal of Ouizer in a church production of Steel Magnolias. It is the best reaction I have ever seen to anything! Like the wonderful person he is, he talked and prayed with me about this major life change that was underway. It feels good to have people like him in your corner, because you know that there is at least one person out there in the world (other than your family members) who cares about what happens to you and how you feel about it. We had a wonderful conversation and were able to say so long. It was greatly encouraging to see him and especially going into a night of packing all my things it was good to clear my head.
That night I got some pizza from my favorite pizza place and I watched one of my favorite shows The King of Queens. After dinner and moving the Tahoe thanks to my lack of a Zone 6 parking permit, I packed until 2 or 3 in the morning. I got all of the things that needed to go to the dump together and all the Goodwill things together and I was done for the night. After all the things got separated I started feeling good about the whole move.
The next morning I was able to get up early and go to Goodwill. After Goodwill I went back to the apartment and got the rest of my dump things. I was off to meet my good friend Lajuana when I stopped to wait by the coffeehouse until she got off from work. I sat there listening to my cd and saw that it was time for her to leave work. I went to start the car and no battery! So there I was stranded with no way of getting to a mechanic. But God made a way. I was able to get in touch with my dad and he got me a AAA membership which allowed them to come and change my battery. I was also offered help from my friend Tiffany who lived up the street from where I was but fortunately didn't have to break into her work schedule to jump my battery but it was so awesome that she helped me out and was willing too. Also Lajuana who I was supposed to pick up and take home walked 3 blocks to come and sit and wait with me til AAA came. Amazing friend! It was also such a wonderful time to just talk and laugh. Lajuana has an infectious personality and we spent many mornings together developing a wonderful friendship. After the AAA person came and the battery was changed we were off. I got to spend an hour and a half with Lajuana as opposed to the 30 min if my car had been working that we may have had together. So it was a blessing that the car died there and that I was able to get the battery changed in D.C. not on the open road and to spend time with my friend.
After I dropped Lajuana off I went to the dump again and dropped off the rest of the things that I needed to get rid of. After that I parked the Tahoe at my house and walked to meet my friend, Kristin. Kristin is amazing and she has such a wonderful disposition about her. She can cheer you up and she is an awesome listener. Kristin and I have also been going through searching for jobs together and making life decisions. I appreciate her friendship immensely. We went to the coffeehouse, Sidamo, and sat, talked and cried for two hours. We didn't cry the whole time just at the end. But how many people do you have in your life who can talk to you and ask you such thought provoking questions that you both start crying in a coffeehouse. Not many! But Kristin is one of those people. I think she can see good in everyone and she strives to be the best that she can be and she operates in such grace. Her courage and strength are encouraging and inspiring to me. After our good-bye at Sidamo I headed home to get ready to meet another good friend, Tiffany.
Were it not for my second stint as a barista I would not have met Tiffany, so I am so very glad to have met her. She is beautiful, cool, intelligent and radiant. She is sisterhood. Tiffany is amazing. She owns her own business and has an ivy league education. She is so well-rounded and keeps me informed all the time. Tiffany and I went to dinner at Eatonville. If you are ever in D.C. be sure to head up to 14th street, near U St and go to this restaurant. It's a tribute to the author Zora Neal Hurston and it has wonderful food and atmosphere. Tiffany and I had a wonderful dinner there and we got to talk about so many things. On top of all we talked about we made plans that when she comes to NYC (and Lord willing I will have a job by then) we are going to go see Fela! together and go up to Harlem and hang out. Tiffany has been such a strong encouragement over the last year that I have known her. She has encouraged me to follow my dreams and to not get bogged down with what is not working out but to create a new plan when the old one gets cut short. It is so wonderful to know her and to have shared such a great moment and meal with her.
Later that same evening I went to visit one of the oldest friends that I have in D.C., Kati. Kati and I met shortly after we both moved to D.C. Kati is from Ohio and I had just left Ohio after doing grad school in Columbus for two years. She, another Katie and I became fast friends. We celebrated birthdays together, watched The Hills together, we watched The Bachelor together, we went shopping together and we prayed together. We met through a small group at NCC, called Alpha and remained friends ever since. It was very cyclical that the evening and my time in DC ended with one of the first friends that I had in DC. Poor Kati is nose to the grindstone in a position that began for her last year but has since become as far as I can tell a great career path for her. I left Kati with my black push cart that most inner city no car havers have in order to get groceries and the like from the store to their apartments. I remembered that she didn't have one and was fortunately able to take it over to her house that evening. We also were able to say out good-byes and just catch up.
That night when I got back I just had a high spirit because of the wonderful people that I was reminded of having in my life over the last two days. It was sad to leave D.C. but it was nice to know that in the future there are people you love that you can come back to and really the place is less important than the people. There is a quote that says "Wherever you are it is your friends that make your world." And this quote is true too in addition to the one above. It's the people, the connections, and the community that we are drawn to and in need of wherever we are.
So Thursday morning it was finally time to finish the packing. I finally got everything in the Tahoe except the things that I would swing by on the way back to pick up. I looked around my apartment and just remembered all the times that I have shared there and the moments of being that happened there. It was a feeling of sadness mixed with a feeling of accomplishment. For two and a half years I made it on my own in the capitol of the nation. What a privilege it was to be a Washingtonian. I headed out and waved a little good-bye as I took the scenic route out of D.C. down Constitution Ave past the Mall and the monuments. It's been real D.C. It finally hit me as I was driving down I-295 that my apartment was empty and that the life that I used to know was over. That's when I burst into tears.
A couple of days later when I was in Charlotte, NC visiting my mom and unloading all of my things into her garage I read something very encouraging. I read a chapter in Joel Osteen's book It's Your Time and he wrote about the place of blessing. He said sometimes there is a mental, emotional, physical or spiritual place that we all need to get to before the Lord can bless us. This was very comforting because I have had to move in all of these different ways over the last two years. Now was the time for the physical move. The good news was that once you get to the place where you are supposed to be the Lord can give you what you need in order to have the dreams, goals, purposes, or wants that you desire. It's good to know that God has it all together and under control when we don't. And it is comforting that he provides us help along the way in various forms and one of those is in good friends. It's tough to walk the straight and narrow but we don't have to do it alone.
P.S- This weekend I am getting a New Jersey driver's license
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