Two Feet In Alabama

Ever since we moved to Birmingham and realized that we live in Jefferson County, we have heard nothing but bad news about the lines at the Courthouse to get your new car tags. We moved here in June, but since my car tags don't expire until October 31st, I was in no hurry to give three hours of my life away to standing in lines. Brandon's car has had Alabama tags throughout his whole time in Tennessee, so his car was good to go for living in Alabama. This Tennessee girl on the other hand, held on to her tags as long as possible. Since Thursday is my day off, I have been planning to get up at the crack of dawn and face the inevitable. Last Wednesday night, as I was hearing the forecast for cold weather on Thursday morning on top of all the other reasons I didn't want to go, I looked Brandon in the eyes and said: "Babe, do you think there's ANY chance we'll be moving back to Tennessee in the near future? 'Cause if so, I think it may even be best for me to just keep my tags." All it took was Brandon looking at me for a split second and saying, "Sweetheart, I'm not even going to answer that!" HA! 

Bye Bye, Tennessee License Plate!!

I knew in that moment that it was time for me to decide in my mind to be ALL here. More so now than ever are we feeling like we're in a routine here in our new city. The Lord has led us to a church home, we're surrounded by dear friends, God has provided many like-minded friends who are into the wellness lifestyle, all is well with our jobs, and so on and so forth...and the simple "finding a new dentist" and "choosing the best grocery store for us" type of thing is different than what we were used to but still no major change. It's been more of a HEART thing all along for me. It's as if Brandon never skipped a beat. He's moved many more times in his life than I have. I grew up in Chattanooga, moved to Auburn for college, then moved to Nashville. So this is really the third major move I've had. Needless to say, my heart is still processing all that this kind of transition includes. I've heard that it takes some people a year or two years to really get into the new groove.

We waited in this line outside until they opened the courthouse at 8am!!

As I've told people who've asked, "How's life in Birmingham?" ... Birmingham is great! It's a fun, Southern city that truly feels like the Alabama version of Nashville. On paper, all is well. Our jobs, church, friends, apartment, and so forth. It's been more of me realizing how much I was in my "comfort zone" in Nashville, and here I am not. Meanwhile, the Lord is teaching me so much. When I take in all that He is teaching me, I realize that I probably wouldn't have learned all this if I had still been in the groove of my comfort zone back in Nashville for this season. This is why I can truly say with confidence that I know I am right where the Lord wants  me. Is it always easy? No! Do I miss things about and people in Nashville? Absolutely! Am I praying everyday to live in the moment and bloom where I am planted? YES!! I realize more and more each day that this life is not about me in my comfort zone. All that matters is Jesus! So whether I am living for him in Birmingham or tim buck two, it really doesn't matter if I am in my comfort zone. I would much rather be pulled out of my comfort zone and seeing firsthand the things the Lord has to teach me, than rocking and rolling in my comfort zone and not seeing my need for the Lord as clearly. 

The line INSIDE! Not complaining at this point... just happy to finally be warm!

So back to the car tags. Last Wednesday night was a wake up call for me. It was time for me to face it that just like it was time for me to switch out my Tennessee tags and go get the Alabama ones, it was also time for me to commit in my heart to being all here. Time to unclench my fists (that I don't even like admit must have still been clenched) and say, "Lord, I'm all yours. I'm here for you. Give me the strength with each day to be all here. What do you have for me today?" I can honestly say that when we first got here, I had half a foot on the ground. Then it got to the point where I probably had one foot here and one foot there. Now I can tell you, I have two feet on the ground in Birmingham, Alabama. This is where the Lord has me. This is my mission field. This is where I get up each day knowing that God has a purpose for me right here and now. As my Dad reminds me often, there was a teacher at Auburn that used to say, "When you're in the room...be in the room!" This is my prayer.

Closing statement from the man of the house: “A lightbulb definitely went off this past week. I'm proud of Whit for processing through these thoughts and being honest with herself and the Lord. It's meant the world to me all this time for her to follow my lead in moving here, and it's meant a lot to see her want to be all here. Not to mention...what a champ for waiting in that long line for three hours!! I kept telling her she can go back another day....but she's persistent and a real go-getter! One of the many things that attracted me to her from the start. We are thankful to be right where the Lord has us!"