10 weeks until fellow ends. 10 weeks!! When Ashley said this at our round table this past Wednesday, I couldn't believe the words coming from her mouth. I grazed my eyes around the room, deeply looking at every fellow. A smile took up upon my face as I recounted everything we did this past year. From the first day of awkward encounters to this moment on the couch feeling so connected and loved. I could not stop thinking of how God has been shaping all of us in his unique way. To think that this year went by so quickly; It feels like it just started. Soon it will be us all at the lake house soaking in as much time before we embark on our own adventures into the unknown (some known). I wonder often what this year would have looked like if I wasn’t in the fellow’s program. Where would I have gone, what would my job have been and how many new friends would I have encountered along the way. Every little moment I get to spend with you guys is a moment I know I won't have for too long. Especially when May comes around and I either get the job I'm applying for (if it's in God’s will) or I move home for the summer to figure out what's next. I know Raleigh will forever hold a place in my heart.
I was talking with the lady I worked for, over last summer, and she was mentioning me coming back out this summer to help upload her TV shows to YT and 3 other famous painters shows as well. They of course would be paying me to do this and the experience I would gain would be crucial for my future in the art world. Colorado spring has a special place in my heart, and I constantly think about it from time to time. I miss the mountains (not the pathetic ones we have here in NC (to think they are even called mountains, what a joke). The community and overall vibe of the area was also what gained my attention and the warm weather to the cold brisk nights. I want to say Raleigh is the home for me but as of now it doesn't feel like that. Yes, I've made community not only with the fellows but with some of the young adults in the church and this too will be hard to leave. I went to the young adults Ministry trivia night tonight and on my way out I met two girls also heading to their car. I had a brief conversation with them, and they said they were just trying to find a new home church in which I replied, “Home is not where church is, home is with God wherever you go”. It got me thinking on my way home in the car that no matter where I go, God will lead me towards his will. It could in Boone, NC or across the US. But I’m taking the time to allow myself to sit in these few moments and spaces I have left with you fellow fellows.
So, when I ask you about your day, don't just say it was good but allow me to witness into how it was good. I want to deeply understand you even more than I do now. I don't want to leave the program feeling like, “I should have gotten to know them better”. I want to leave knowing you guys to the fullest. God has allowed us to truly embrace each other in so many ways and so my hope is in these next 10 weeks that we can embrace this deeper understanding of what it means to truly know thy brother and sister, the way Christ knows us. And when goodbyes are said that they won't be known as goodbyes but in actuality, “See you later”.
To what we have left,
Tyler Brantley