I have been feeling particularly homesick this week. I miss my family a lot, and I'm feeling the blues around being so far away from them. Before I left, I drove around Kitsap County, having at least three different "last hoorahs" in Kingston, Poulsbo and Belfair. Driving through the winding roads and dark forests, I thought the scenery must be what I would miss the most. As many things are, this was very different in theory than in reality. The amount I miss the views of Washington is insignificant compared to how much I miss the family that lives there. I miss bringing Ben home from swim practice, stopping for slushies with Fisher, playing yard games with Joe, watching movies with Caleb and doing anything and everything with my mom. Sometimes I feel like a little girl again, at a birthday party, just waiting for my mom to come and pick me up. I miss her so much.
The sometimes nice, sometimes frustrating thing about being human, is that I can hold these feelings at the same time as I hold the ones I feel constantly about how grateful and happy I am to be here in Florida. I got a calling recently to co-teach the sunbeams at my church. Although, I had the opportunity to substitute for the class before I got set apart as a teacher. For context, the sunbeams are 1-3 years old. Today during a lesson, the other teacher asked what Nephi did when he fell on his knees. A sweet little boy said, "He called for backup!" The answer the teacher was looking for was "he prayed" but I think this answer works too. God is the best backup we could ever ask for. He knows us perfectly and understands all the codes and signals we send him during prayer. I certainly felt that this past Sunday when I got set apart for my calling. The brother who asked me who I wanted to have as witnesses took the matter into his own hands when I said "I think it's fine if it's just me." He brought in the Harriman family (the family I am staying with) and a teacher from the primary presidency. He spoke to me about support systems and said "The Harrimans are your family here!" it hit me pretty hard. Sometimes it's all too easy to feel alone or like you are fending for yourself. I wouldn't be surprised if most freshly moved-out kids felt that way. At the end of the day though, God always has our backs and hears our prayers. He surely answered mine recently.
