Finding the Familiar

Chris and I have been in Cincinnati about a month now! We are on the tail end of settling into our new apartment and It is finally starting to feel a little more like our home. We are both starting to really enjoy Cincinnati and the people here are so welcoming (shout out to Christina who always said positive things about Cincy). We have tried nearly every restaurant on our little block and quite a few dog parks. We are settling into new routines and Chris is really enjoying his residency. The other Emergency residents are amazing, and we are really enjoying being around them and becoming friends with them. A lot of them have dogs as well so Piper making new lots of new friends!

I left Chris at home last week and was able to enjoy a week at the beach with family and friends to celebrate the 4thof July. After the beach trip I made a last-minute decision to make a detour (for one night) to Atlanta to break up my drive back to Cincinnati. It was so nice to drive around without a GPS. I was able to attend the 5 pm gathering at PCC and it was so nice to walk into a familiar church and see familiar faces. It was nice to grab dinner at a familiar place with a friend. It was just so nice to be in the familiarity of Atlanta. I think I am realizing how much I miss the familiar.

Familiarity is not something that I would have originally pin-pointed myself missing the most. But, you see familiarity is easy and comfortable. It feels safe. It feels like eating a big bowl of mac and cheese. The past few weeks have been a land of unfamiliar faces, places, and roads. Even Church has felt very unfamiliar. I know however, that I am not called to just stay in familiar places and spaces. I’m not called to become too comfortable. I think that I am realizing that comfort is not something that should be found in places and spaces. It is something that should be found in the person of Jesus which is most easily found in scripture. The bible literally says that he is our comforter.

I don’t know what everyone reading this believes but, in my life, I have found Jesus to be my comforter and I know that he is the familiarity that I need right now. I am realizing that no amount of visiting home or scrolling through Instagram or Facebook is going to make this easier. In fact, it might make this much more difficult. I’m thankful though for a gracious God who is always the same and who is always familiar to me.

I am grateful for this opportunity to grow and meet new people and learn new things. Even though it hasn’t been all rainbows and butterflies, it has been very good so far. Chris and I are growing closer to one another through this and I am so thankful for that. I am also so glad that Chris is truly enjoying his residency so far and is already learning so much. I am excited and nervous about what the next few years may bring but I know that I will always have a comforter with me.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (ESV)