Today I said goodbye to Montana. It has been a great home and saying goodbye has been bittersweet. When I moved to Montana seven years ago, there was no way I could have known the blessings and the challenges awaiting me. I am however grateful for both, for they have made me who I am today. I am amazed when I think back to the 23 year old girl who thought she knew it all, but in reality hadn't even began to grasp the greatness of our God. As He often does, I first saw His greatness in the beauty of His creation. In the purple moutain majesty that occurs during a late summer sunset. In the fall as it showed it's splendor in the orange, yellow, and red leaves that acted as a canopy for the students along the roads leading to the University. In waking up to the first snow covered ground of the season. So white. So pure. So joyful. In the spring as winter gave way to snow capped mountains that would steal your breath your away. But not even these can compare to the greatness He showed me in the people He gave me along the way. The people who have shaped my life, who have taught me, who have loved me, who have walked me and who have waited with me. Those I worked with, those I encountered in a store or on campus, those I worshipped with, and those who took me not only into their homes, but into their hearts. These are the ones God used to teach me about His greatness. The greatness of His mercy, His grace, His truth, His love, His Son Jesus Christ. I am free. I am delivered. And God used Montana to give me that understanding. And so the leave is bittersweet. I go where He sends me and in that knowledge I find the joy that overcomes the sadness. I journey on now to a new land, to a new place, where I know so many more blessings and challenges await. For now though, I just take rest under the shelter of a Holiday Inn Express in Casper, Wyoming and thank my God for where He had brought me and for where He is taking me. He truly is a Great God!
