Life in Nashville

You probably have read some of our Facebook and Twitter posts and have seen our big news on here about the adoption happening, but I realized I hadn't written much to update you on our lives here lately. Next month, we will celebrate four years of marriage and 2 years in Nashville. I must say, it seems a little strange that half of our married life and soon to be more will have been spent here in Nashville. Here is a quick update on what has been happening and what we have been learning here in Middle Tennessee. As you know, Danielle and I felt God calling us here to Nashville a couple years ago. We had been praying about what he wanted us to do and where he wanted us to go. At the time, we couldn't pinpoint exactly where we would be going, but we knew we'd be leaving all that was familiar to us. An opportunity came up for me in Nashville. I interviewed and took the job. My how time flies. I'll never forget when I was interviewing here and drove to Gaylord Opryland. It wasn't open yet because of the flood, but I pulled in the parking lot and I called Danielle. I told her this was the place I felt God was calling us. I was scared, anxious, nervous, excited and felt so much peace about it. Two years later, I must say I still have those feelings at times - especially the peace from God. Living here has been an adjustment for us in many ways. In some ways, it has been very easy. Going to church is a normal thing to do, people say they pray for you all the time. Nashville has a healthy economy, you don't see people struggling here the way they do in other places. We know it is happening, it's just not as evident. People here are proud to be from Nashville. They take great pride in this part of the country - like I have never seen before. On the flip side, this is not an accepting culture. I see so many people here longing to be loved for who they are. Sure, this is the case everywhere - but it's different here. Because of a well-documented past, people here still struggle to accept each other the ways you see in other parts of the country. We are honored that people here have accepted us and we have embraced the people of Nashville. Enough of my assessment on Nashville. Here is what Danielle and I have been learning. We have learned to take care of ourselves by ourselves. I am so thankful we learned this at such an early part of our marriage. We haven't had our parents available to rescue us or take care of us. We have learned to rely on each other for everything. This has made us so much stronger as a couple. At the same time, we have learned that God provides the right people in your life at the right time. Because we don't have family here, we learned that friends can also be family. Never in my life have I been blessed so much by friendships. We have celebrated holidays with friends, birthdays and so much more. We have leaned on them to help us and I hope we have been there for them. The word friendship has a new meaning to us and we are so fortunate God put these people in our lives. We have learned God gives us direction. From the moment we moved here, God has been guiding us. He has shown us which steps to take and where to go. God is doing a great work in our hearts. He is teaching us patience, understanding and trust. I don't think we would have learned this if we hadn't made the move here. Living here, Danielle and I have been able to see so much of the country. We have been to Arkansas, Missouri, Alabama, Illinois, North and South Carolina and all over Tennessee. It's been important for us to embrace the culture and the people here. We are doing that. This is making this experience in our lives so much sweeter. All of this to say, we long for our family. I long to share dinner with my parents, to sit and visit with my Grandparents, to give my Nana a hug, to play with my niece and nephew, to talk with my sister, to walk along the lake by my in-laws home and breathe in the fresh air. There is one thing that hasn't been replaced on this move and that's the love I have for my family. I miss them every day and long to be with them again. God has taught me to pray so much more and I'm so thankful for that. Danielle and I believe God is the creator of our future and we are looking forward to what he has in store for us. That said, I could never have planned this part of our journey better and I have a feeling the next part will be just the same. We know many of you have brought us before the Lord and we thank you for it. God is stirring up a great passion in our hearts and we look forward to seeing him make things clear to us in the months and years to come. -Ryan