Cincinnati? Why?

This is my first blog entry ever! So why am I starting a blog? I decided to start a blog so that people back in Atlanta can keep up with Chris and me as we move to Cincinnati. I also am doing this for myself so that I don’t forget these next months and years. I often find myself thinking that I remember every little thing, when in reality I forget most things. Over the years I have off and on wrote down my prayers. This practice, although sporadic, has been incredibly encouraging to me because it makes it tangible and evident that God is working in every little detail of my life and of those around me. My hope it that these words would be encouraging not only to myself but to anyone who may read it. My hope is that I can look back and see the tangible evidence of God who graciously weaves together our stories.

Chris and I are moving to Cincinnati. This is so crazy to me to write because it has been an idea for the past year that we could end up there.  I have learned in this past season that people generally are quick to give their opinion (good or bad), especially if it is something that doesn't seem to make sense. We have a lot of people say, why would you move to Cincinnati? What in the world is in Cincinnati? Isn’t the only thing in Cincinnati Skyline Chilli? Or, it’s so cold there (hey we are from Atlanta) and on and on the comments went. Don’t get me wrong, we had a lot of positive comments as well but since I didn’t want to move I clung to the negative comments.

When Chris first presented the idea of moving to Cincinnati I was immediately and instinctually against it. I could not imagine my life in a midwest city that seemed less than average. Everyone I knew from Cincinnati, much less Ohio did not live there anymore. I was not ready to leave the comforts of the south and my home in Atlanta. All of our immediate family lives in Georgia and it felt difficult to be in a different state. Another big reason moving seemed like a terrible idea is that we had roots at our church. Heck, we met at out Church. We went every Sunday and saw the same people and worshipped the same way and always went to Passion Kids. WE LOVE Passion CIty.  It had been my life giving routine for four or five years, and I thrive on routine. In the end, however, it was clear that we were going to go to you guessed it, Cincinnati.

It all started during Chris’s process in finding a residency. Chris spent a month in Cincy getting to know the city and getting to know the program that he would possibly be a part of. He LOVED it. He loved the people and the program and pretty much everything about the city. I wasn't sold. I went up for a few days in August 2018 to visit him during his stay. It rained EVERY DAY. I was alone(because Chris was working), and it was awful. Someone even told me that it was the 6th best medium-sized art city in the country…. She said this proudly. I was not impressed. I went home from that trip trying to come up with ways to convince Chris that Cincy was, in fact, the last city that we should move to.  

As I was going through processing moving and moving to a city that I didn’t want to move to it became clear to me that I could either listen to the voice of myself, others, or I could pray and listen to the one who ultimately is in control. I did not always choose to listen to Jesus during this process. I choose my own way, my own desires, and my own comforts. This is a growing process, chipping away at my own desires, a sanctification. Chris and I had many conversations about the possibility and probability that we would be moving to a different city. It became clear after lots of prayers that we would, in fact, be moving to a different city. And then one day I had a peace about it that I cannot explain.

And then came Match day. Match day is this crazy, mentally exhausting day where medical students open letters( much like bid day for sorority rush) that determine their future. When we opened the letter that would determine the fate of the next 4 years in our life it said Cincinnati.  There it was, the next 4 years of our life written on a letter. That was so crazy to me that in that moment everything changed, but in reality it had already changed. My heart had changed. It had changed from highly disliking a city to being excited about going. It had changed from a heart that wanted to stay in the same place forever to a heart that was willing to go. It had changed for the better. I am still working through the fact that everything is changing and I am still praying for a heart for Cincinnati and its people. I am not fully there yet. I have moments of fear, mostly fear of loneliness and fear of what our life is going to look like during residency.

So this week we moved to Cincinnati and left so many good things behind that we have known and held dear for the past few years. We left our church that has poured life into us, we left our friends, I left my job, and we left our amazing family of which all live in Georgia. Even though we are leaving so many great things behind, we are not leaving our story behind. We will always be able to look back on the story that God has woven and that he is weaving together for our good and for His glory. I hope that you will follow along. - Elizabeth