I’ve always thought goodbye meant leaving something behind.

But maybe sometimes goodbye means walking toward something.

So here I am standing at the edge of everything familiar, with a backpack full of clothes, a heart full of people I love, and absolutely no idea what the next 9 months are going to look like.

I’m leaving with questions.

I’m leaving with excitement.

I’m leaving with a little fear.

And most of all, I’m leaving with a yes.

A yes to the places I haven’t seen.

A yes to the people I haven’t met.

A yes to the uncomfortable moments.

A yes to being stretched.

A yes to being changed.

A yes to wherever God decides to take me.

I have a feeling that somewhere between Guatemala, South Korea, South Africa, Eswatini, and Vietnam. I’m going to meet versions of myself I didn’t know existed and I’m going to meet a whole lot of people who remind me that God’s world is so much bigger than my own little corner of it.

I’ll miss birthdays.

Random Target trips.

Late night conversations.

My own bed.

Knowing where everything is.

Knowing what tomorrow looks like.

But I’d rather miss the familiar than miss what God has for me.

So if you see me somewhere over the next 9 months, maybe in a different country, with a different story, and probably carrying way too much laundry just know I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.

This isn’t the end of my life at home.

It’s the beginning of a story I haven’t read yet.

And I think that’s the best part.

See you somewhere along the way.