What a difference a year makes!

A couple of weeks ago we reached the one year mark in Memphis!  As I look at my calendar and all the stuff we have going on, I can't help but think back to this time last year.  Every time I would leave our little apartment, my stress level would rise.  What if I got lost?  What if something happened?  This is Memphis - what if someone robs me or tries to still my car.  Ok, so the last thought was totally irrational.  Though Memphis has some dicey areas, I don't live anywhere near them.  Germantown actually has the lowest crime rate for any city its size in the state of Tennessee, but the security guards who patrol most of the store parking lots in town stressed me out a little.  Would the girls make friends? Would I make friends?  Would this ever feel like home???  Scared as I was, I was determined to make our move work.  I was not going to be one of those wives who said, "I hate it here and we are moving home or else."  The Lord has been so good to us and I am so thankful for how far we've come in a year.  Though I do miss people in Nashville, the beautiful rolling hills, Green Hills mall, fruit tea from Bread & Company, and the list could go on, this has become my home.  I love Germantown.  I love being surrounded by horse farms and having a Target a mile away and a Panera two miles away.  I love my church and my pastor who encourages me to memorize and pray Scripture.  I feel fairly confident when I go places now and I've made some amazing friends - the kind of friends that will be my friends for life.  I love that when I go to the pool at our club, I almost always see someone I've met this year. I love that when I look at my calendar, I know I can't commit to much more or I will be overloaded.  In just a year, my life has become full again and I am so glad!  This year has not been without its struggles, pain, and heartbreak, but I'm so glad that the Lord has brought me through it the way He has and I'm so glad that we made the move even though sometimes it was so, so hard.  I think my song for the year would have to be You are my Shield by Hillsong United. I especially love the chorus:

You have made me glad, and I'll say of the Lord:
You are my Shield, my Strength, my Portion, Deliverer,
My Shelter, Strong Tower, my very present help in time of need.

My very present help in time of need.