simply homemaker

Yesterday, my grandma made a comment that really made me stop in my track.

She said to my brother, right in front of me, that after 7 years of being in the States, I am still “empty handed.”

For a second, I was really tempted to believe that it was true. But if you have followed along thus far, you know that statement is far from the truth, and I realized it in the matter of seconds.

In the 7 (closer to 8) years mentioned, I was constantly educated for 6, made the friends who would be my bridesmaids, worked many dream jobs, figured out who I am and what I want to do, traveled to 5 continents, and have never been healthier and more sure of the place God has brought me to in life.

So I said goodbye to everyone and went to bed.

Honestly, I knew that when I set out for this crazy plan that had never been carried out by anyone I know, including my own family, that I would face lots and lots of questions. Leaving the cushioned corporate life? Starting an MBA at 23? Leaving the location where you do your MBA to travel for 8 months? Living with families (aka best thing that ever happened) and spent more time with kids than with people my age?

Now that I’m back in the life of having two monitors set up in my home desk and free coffee at work, I no longer am blinded by the fanciness of those things. I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good and the freedom of a simple life. And the best gift this time has given me is that I never have to say later in my life I regret not seeing the world when I had the curiosity and stamina that I did.

On a more casual update, I’ve officially been in Florida for 2 weeks! This week, we made big but also quiet moves. We went to three workout classes, took my first piano class (with my dear new friend Sydney), and finished my first project at work. Tania, my roommate and I, really got to know each other and that has been a lot of fun. She’s closer to my parents’ age, so I feel like I’m living with an aunt. Tania and I share a love for grocery shopping (the #1 place I’ve been to in my life), so we signed up for a CostCo membership together and went yesterday! I also really enjoyed having meals with her and just saying hi in the mornings and evenings. We have also been talking some about Jesus. All glory be to God for this sweet house that is my shelter in this season.

This week, I’ve been feeling a little restless. I am settled, signed up for benefits and set up my monitors and all of that. What now? And then, I read this quote on the NYT, and it says: “You finally became a butterfly. And everyone has already been asking what’s next.”

This exactly captures where I am in life. I am happy, and content, and just here to have a good time. I am living within my means, and am serving Jesus everyday with the work that I do.

I don’t feel the need to be elsewhere.

In fact, I am determined to enjoy the simple delights in life.

To cook from scratch everyday and enjoy feeding myself with good things.

To move my body and be thankful for the way God has made it.

To settle into the beautiful rhythms of ministry and work and fellowship within the office.

To set out of my comfort zones in small but big ways: like getting used to devotional time built into my work days, and learning how to be a financial analyst, and making new friends!

My joys this week have included finding a friend in the office who also loves pottery (we’re going to venture out to the studio next weekend), being able to set up my 4-year-old TV, and baking a dozen banana chocolate chip walnut muffins before work.

I was going through my Europe pictures that night, and while I am so thankful for that time, I feel settled in my soul that God has allowed me to have that season so I can appreciate the season I am in. A season of routines, predictability, and certainty.

I am so thankful that I lived my early twenties to the fullest, and I didn’t let anyone tell me to do otherwise.

Because, as Stephanie May Wilson famously says, you get to decide

Love,

Tram