Adventure Awaits

Over the past couple of weeks, I realized I have not answered many of your questions about our move; why we moved? How Taylor and I were doing? His job? My work? and what spurred everything on… 

So, I wanted to take a few moments and honestly explain how we got to North Carolina and where our hearts were during the time of deciding... 

Blue Ridge Mountains

Short Version:
Taylor got a job, we were ready for adventure and what better than this season of life!?

Long Version:
First let me start with, Taylor and I considered leaving Austin during our first few months of marriage. We tossed the idea around thinking it would provide us with the space needed to figure out “married life.” Plus, what better than having a great adventure when you’re newly married!? It wasn’t a set plan in our minds but was most definitely a consideration. I understand for many of our friends “figuring out married life” seems a bit excessive and for others who are older it may appear admirable yet pretentious. Nevertheless, we prayed about it and the answer was no.

In late summer, we came back to the topic in light of events that took place in the past six months or so. After seeing situations play out (most for good) yet a growing tiredness in both Taylor and I, conversations about our busyness, relationships, being young and current commitments slowly started coming up between us.

We gathered, we were too busy, our relationships were not bearing fruit, and we didn’t know how to make wise commitments. We were saying, “Yes” to things that didn’t align with our goals in marriage. The shocking part? These commitments are things considered beneficial to one’s life. (i.e. family, friends, community group, serving others, etc.) The problem was never these groups; it was us.

As we began to pray about our second year in marriage, we both felt a peace about leaving Austin.  We knew we needed to make adjustments whether here or elsewhere. Not to mention, just the thought of the opportunity to have an excursion with each other was so thrilling!

Fearless One

Taylor then contacted a company held in high regard by his pervious employer and asked if there were any opportunities available.  To our surprise, they set-up an interview a couple weeks out. Taylor at this point had been with his previous employer for a little over a year and absolutely loved the people and environment; it would be hard to leave. So we prayed that if we didn’t have a peace about this new company then he would not accept any offers. Obviously, since we’re in North Carolina, you can conclude that the interview went well and Taylor felt very welcomed. (We all  know Penny LOVES his new job!)

Now, Taylor and I both understand that North Carolina does not fix our “Yes” problem and are aware that we CAN have healthy boundaries in Austin. We also, without a doubt know we are not running from the fear of saying “No.”

As we continued to pray about this, there seemed to be calmness when relating the move in all areas of our lives. We never pictured the move as a fix but more as a given opportunity to enhance our circumstances as we pursue the good in our marriage. Then, when sharing the news with family, friends and small group, their overwhelming support helped confirm the peace we had.

The part that took us off guard was how fast we had to move. We had two weeks to pack up and make the move East. I know for a lot of our friends we didn’t feel as though we had time to share the news and say goodbye but it’s all a part of the journey. We know we will be back to visit soon; besides with how world connects over social media, I am sure we don’t feel too far at all!

The Grizz... 

We couldn’t be more energized about this new season in life as Taylor and I learn to grow as a couple. We have a big adventure awaiting us and we are eager to take the next couple of steps!  We are young with no chick-a-dees, and LOVE to explore. We recently took our first loooong hike in the Blue Ridge and Taylor has already planned our next camping trip in the mountains! Not forgetting his excitement in growing a full bread for winter – truly “The Grizz!” :) Personally, I cannot wait to embrace this opportunity at a fresh start! Taylor is the perfect teammate and I couldn’t be happier to be by his side on our adventure!

So with that said – here’s to new beginnings, fresh foundations, and beautiful countryside… okay, little cheesy… but truly, I am excited about this next season of life with my Taylor Bear!