The only thing I knew going into my first post-grad summer was that the Lord asked me to rest. While that sounds easy, it went against everything in me to not be on the job hunt or have something to throw myself into immediately after college. An acquaintance recently said to me “Wait, aren’t you like, a girl boss?” and that pretty much sums up my internal dialogue – and doubt – in moving home and following through with my sabbath summer.
My senior year I ran hard. I was riding two horses, managing a coffee shop and finishing two degrees. All things I LOVED and felt blessed to be doing – but an unsustainable pace. The discipline that got me through was my weekly Saturday sabbath when I would commit to not working in any capacity, and give myself space and permission to say no to anything that didn’t feed my soul, and yes to anything that did.
I began to learn a main tenet of sabbath/sabbatical is dependence on God. So I stepped into this summer with faith that my obedience would be blessed. And what a summer it was.
States: Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Washington, Oregon
Cities: DC, Chicago, Seattle, London, Portland
Weddings: The Lees, The Raceks, The Wards
Flights: 8
When people asked, I kept hearing myself repeat “My dream is to work on a ranch out west but I had too much going on this summer so I’m hoping to do that next summer.” Which is completely true, but I looked down on myself for saying it because was it really worth it to just stick around this summer? How much did all these trips and events really matter? (Not to mention, at least half of the events/trips weren’t planned until summer had already started.)
The answer I found: There’s no substitute for being there, and I got to be there. Here’s what I would’ve missed had I not been obedient:
My roommate Caroline getting married to James. A relationship I got to see grow up close and a holy day to be apart of!
Caroline, Charlotte, and I took a roadtrip to Indiana to visit Lauren and Trent’s new home. This was such good quality time, so interesting to see the Midwest and learned a lot about the Amish. We also did trips to Chicago and Lake Michigan!
Sarah and Dawson’s wedding. Two of the most consistent people in my college life, it was a blessing to watch them grow and grow with them the last four years and to bear witness to their marriage.
A beach trip to good ol’ Ocean City, MD with Libby, Abbey, and Natalie. Our last hoorah in a lot of ways :(. It’s always fun to show friends the unique (ha) beach we grew up going to.
Family Reunion in Middleburg. I love Middleburg (horse country baby!) but the real appreciation was catching up with extended family we rarely see.
The Fourth of July in Washington DC with Danielle. This was so fun and memorable and the metro on the way home was one of the craziest experiences of our lives. It was also so special to have Danielle here for a week before she moved across the country!
The Draft!! Biggest event of the summer and so fun to be involved. A blessing to get to be with Jonny as he walked through this once in a lifetime event. Anna was at camp so we facetimed her into draft night and then looked like a family of four.
Seattle for Jonny’s signing day. I would have been having a panic attack walking into that stadium but Jonny was so ready (and consistently calmer than the rest of the family). Really fun to see the behind the scenes and watch all of Jonny’s hardwork pay off.
Visiting Summer’s Best to see Anna! I had about 24 hours between landing from Seattle and leaving to drive up to PA for a night to see where Anna’s spent the last two summers. It was so fun to be back in a little camp world and hang out on the lake.
Pet sitting out in Middleburg. I was excited for this because it felt like a personal retreat (very sabbatical-esk). I was up at 6am every morning and went on lots of walks with the dogs. College taught me I am an introvert with an extroverted personality so being alone really feeds my soul. The sunrises and sunsets were hard to beat and reminded me of Blacksburg.
London! This trip was completely unexpected but my dad won tickets to a Manchester United game so we went to London and a quick visit Manchester. We also watched Liverpool (my Dad’s favorite team) play Chelsea. Ally made Anna and I tea at her flat and the fact that I got to see her twice this summer despite living across the ocean is truly a God thing. We loved all the historic/royal sights and felt like we could have stay much longer. We LOVED London and will be back. This trip we were still looking like a family of four but this time with Anna back. ❤
The big finale! Another quick one day turnaround from London, I left for Portland Oregon for the last wedding of the summer – my teammate Pearl (real name Jonathan) and his now wife Emily! This was my first time flying across the country completely by myself but I’m so glad I did. I got to reconnect with VT friends and the wedding was absolutely beautiful. John and I FaceTimed the team back at Tech. The best thing I got out of leading Young Life was my people and I’m thankful for them!
Now you might be wondering…Grace where was the rest? Well, it was there both between and in the trips and events. I think there’s something restful about being with people who know you well. I took June off social media, did my best to be intentional about my habits (enter: running), and kept in mind that sabbaticals don’t come often.
I thought I’d be fighting boredom, but instead this summer became what I needed it to be. A lot of goodbyes and endings, but just as many (if not more) reminders of God’s faithfulness to me in the last season, and His promise of faithfulness in the next.
I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Psalm 16:8
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