Overwhelming Faithfulness (A Goodbye to Nashville)

 “...But the Lord’s faithfulness overwhelms the one who trusts in Him” (Psalms 32:10).

If I had to describe my experience in Nashville using two words, it would be “overwhelming faithfulness.” Throughout the past four years, God has demonstrated His abundant love through His people and His unfailing grace through His patience. He has cultivated a garden of budding fruit and climbing flowers in my heart. He has pieced back the broken remnants of heartbreak and eased the burden of grief. Great is His faithfulness. 

But you can’t have hello without goodbye.

You can't have answers without questions.

You can’t have flowers without rain. 

You can't have love without heartache.

You can’t have a beginning without an ending.

And you can’t have joy without pain.

“When you are sorrowful, look again in your heart and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight” (On Joy and Sorrow, Kahlil Gibran). 

Right now, I feel the weight of goodbye, the fear of the unknown, the torrent of rain, the ache deep in my heart, the dread of the ending...and it hurts. I recognize that the prospect of this goodbye is harder because of the undeserved love and joy I have experienced. As I am writing this, I don’t know what the next step will hold. I don’t even know where the next step will be. Nevertheless, I have confidence in the Lord who is constantly going before me...a God who is already in tomorrow. This God is carrying me along, just as I saw Him do through moving to Nashville where I’ve experienced blessings so big and incredible that have far surpassed all I could have imagined. God has never once failed me. 

God is calling me deeper. Deeper into love. Deeper into faith. Deeper into hope. Deeper into trust. He whispers, “Deeper still, my child. Come deeper.” I will bravely step into the deep because I have more evidence of God’s love, more proof of His faithfulness, and more confirmation of His goodness through the blessings I’ve experienced in the last four years. I know I am not going deeper alone.  

If you are a part of my story, thank you. I hope I have loved well. I hope I have paid back in equal measure the love I have been given...abundant and overflowing. I hope praises continually fall from my lips and songs are always playing in my heart for my life has been full of fleeting beauty and new mercies. I want to share with you a glimpse into the people God has been using to provide growth, healing, acceptance, and joy. The following video’s length is excessive which seems proportional to the love it contains. 

Video: Nashville 2017-2021

Life is constantly changing, and I can’t believe this chapter is already almost over. I hope you will take time to celebrate the people God is using in your own life to shower you with His faithfulness.  As I grieve the changes that will soon take place, I can look over my shoulder and see how many more praises I have to offer God as I step into the next chapter He has already written. Ultimately, I'm ready. God has used this season to build me up, to shower me in love, and to strengthen my heart to be prepared to take the next step. Tomorrow will certainly hold more goodbyes, more questions, more rain, more heartache, more endings, and more pain...but it will also certainly hold more hellos, more answers, more flowers, more love, more beginnings, and more joy. 

My time in Nashville isn’t quite over. I’m reaping the last few fruits and enjoying the flowers that were planted by God for this season, and I am determined to love until the very end. I will dance in the rain. I will pause and smell the flowers. I will give and hope and trust and rejoice...because God is good, and His faithfulness overwhelms me.