27 Candles

I’m 27.  TWENTY-SEVEN years old!  How can I still feel like I’m a 19 year old living in 2006?  Aren’t people usually married by now?  Have a handful of kids?  Have a career?  Have a smart phone at least?  Well, I guess God has different paths for different people.  And 27 is the new 17 anyway.  Actually, I hope not.  I do not need to be 17 again—with blonde highlights and awkward prom dates.  I prefer my more natural, confident 27 year old self, although I do still go on awkward dates sometimes.  And I don’t really mind growing older and wiser—that means I am just one step closer to heaven. 

Okay, the past couple of weeks have been filled with plenty of ups and downs.  I’ve interviewed for jobs, packed up to leave Bloomington forever in just a few days, had to move out of my apartment into a friend’s, visited some friends in gorgeous Michigan, have been locked out of my email account for a week, started to wrap up my current job here, and said many goodbyes to many dear friends.  I’m looking forward to the future with anticipation, but also just sort of shaking my head dizzily from how fast life has gone. 

Leaving Bloomington is rather bittersweet.  I’ve had some of my best and worst memories here.  I’ve made some of my best accomplishments and biggest mistakes here.  Three years ago I arrived in Bloomington to attend graduate school, without any idea of what the future would hold.  I applied to school while in China, had never visited the city, and didn’t know a soul.  Yet I remember nearly crying for thankfulness when I was pleasantly surprised by an awesome church, awesome people, and an awesome community.  I gained a master’s degree, learned to be more authentic, loved others well, and truly had my faith refined by God.  I hope that this city and people have been made slightly better off because I was here—I know I have grown in too many ways to count.

“All of us have had that veil removed so that we can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord. And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His glory even more.” ~2 Corinthians 3:18.   

So I say goodbye to Bloomington.  Goodbye to genuine friends.  A beloved Christian community.  Pretty trees.  Great restaurants.  Connections in the government and nonprofit world.  Mild weather.  Hiking trails.  A nice little city newspaper.  International students.  Compassionate citizens.  Low crime.  Small town living.  Ballet classes and tennis games.

I also say goodbye to my 26^th year.  Goodbye to a challenging and humbling year.  My mid-20s.  The hospital.  Physical pain and scars.  Mental pain and scars.  Fear and anxiety.  My first truly full-time, professional job.   

And I say hello!  Hello to life as a wiser 27 year old in a yet-to-be-determined location and job.  Hello to new adventures, friends, experiences, and memories.  I am still young and I am “Laura the Brave,” as a couple of my friends have said.  I never believed them, but am slowly starting to think it’s true.  I’m brave because of Christ.  I’m brave because of my family and friends.  I’m brave because you just have to be brave in order to keep moving forward...