Hope Street

A year ago on July 24, I started this blog here in Champlain, NY. This year on July 24, I will be in Haiti. While I will most likely be unable to post a blog to commemorate my first blogging anniversary, I actually believe that being in Haiti IS the best way to celebrate a year blogging, a year pondering God and my daily interactions with Him.

I discovered Hope Street during the summer of 2005 in Saranac Lake. I lived there from May to July (August?) with my best friend. In 2005, I had turned my back from God. My definition of hope was from Greek mythology: I believe it escaped from Pandora's box. Hope can be a friend or a foe. I had seen it be both in my life.

I often visit my best friend in Saranac Lake and always enjoy a stroll up Hope Street, which appears to be a dead end street from the bottom of the hill. It takes a sharp curve to the left and continues as a different street. Hope Street is truly delightful on so many levels. In 2008/2009, my best friend was living between Plattsburgh, our hometown, and Saranac Lake. We visited each other in Champlain, where my parents, and in Plattsburgh.

She has returned to Saranac Lake, so this year I spent 5 days with her in the Adirondack region. I had the opportunity to walk up Hope Street. Five years later, my perspective had changed. My hope was in Jesus. Jesus is sturdy, dependable, faithful, victorious. Hope in Jesus is STRONG!

Returning home always causes me to reflect. It is my retreat. San Diego has developed into a home, yet there are ways in which New York will always trump San Diego. Here's a short list: the small town pace, the small town charm, the mountains, the green grass, the trees, the wild animals (deer, fox, turkey, fish, hummingbirds, racoons, ducks, frogs, birds), the starry sky, the corn fields, the cows, seasonal hot dog and ice cream stands, family, friends, lakes, rivers. That's just describing the summer and in no particular order.

Since I've found a church that I can call home in San Diego (not New York), I have a community in San Diego. It is very different from my community in New York. This summer has made me realize just how much I appreciate my community in San Diego. They are my family away from family. They are my family in Christ. Their influence in my life is profound. The opportunities we have tackled together are meaningful and fun. We live life together and we laugh.

I am bi-coastal. God wants me in San Diego, and I want to be in San Diego. While I long for more time home in New York, I'm also itching to return to San Diego. I am blessed with two homes.

My roots are in New York; my branches are in San Diego. Through God, I keep growing.