My eyes are a little sleepy and heart a little full as I write this. The skyline of Las Vegas fills my family’s fifty-four foot RV. As I sit in the passenger seat of the huge motor-home, I can feel my lips turn up their corners in a sheepish grin and the tears run down my face because this was my last day in California and because I just caught a glimpse of the bright orange sunset—it is my last Californian sunset for a while and somehow it has me feeling a little nostalgic.

So, I guess its time to spill the beans… Most of you already know this but for those of you who don’t: I am trading my gorgeous Californian coast and golden, picturesque sunsets for the brilliant sunrises, bustling streets, and concrete jungles of New York City.

Oh, what a life of beautifully unexpected plot twists we live—though it’s been my dream to one day live in the city that never sleeps since I was eight years old.

Fast forward twelve years… what the heck was I thinking? Today was one of the saddest, scariest days of my life yet most fulfilled and heart warming as well.

In the past 24 hours, I not only graduated from high school (more to come on that) but I also said goodbye to my childhood home—two of the most difficult things for young adults my age. Yet, I did it. Today, we packed our home up and said goodbye to the people, places, and comfort that we have been so used to whilst saying hello to the scary, unknown and craziness of moving across country.—Talk about an emotional rollercoaster.

I am moving to the Upper West Side of New York City.

“Wait, what?” are my thoughts exactly. Because just a couple months ago, I didn’t know where I was going to end up. New York City was were I ultimately wanted to be but I promised myself I would be happy wherever and whatever God had in store for me. To be honest, I am still fumbling to wrap my head around the plot twist that’s recently taken place in my life.

This morning I was reading my daily devotional on my phone when God whacked me in the face with 1 Corinthians 2:9.

And it’s ironic, because I’d started my morning by reading about prayer and about how Jesus commands us to be shamelessly persistent in the way we ask Him for His good gifts.

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 

I suppose reading this this morning prompted me to really justify prayer. I have always prayed because it is what I was taught to do; today I saw God unfold how prayer isn’t just because it is what we are supposed to do. I witness God working in my life and showing his love to me—though through extreme heartache of saying goodbye to a certain part of my life.

I realised, what matters to me matters to Him. And whether it’s a broken family, a wayward child, a potential career change, or your high-school graduation, He hears the way your heart aches for clarity and reconciliation and whimsy.

I saw how telling Him my fears, my dreams, and my concerns will ultimately propose a response. Sometimes it will be sad, but in the end He’ll turn them into something remarkable—leaving you with the same sheepish grin and tears I have as I write this.

I am not sure what the next four years will bring me but I know that I serve a God who gives me everything I need and who returns life to my dry and dusty soul.

Even for those who don’t believe yet, write down your details, your struggles, your happiness and watch as it changes. Life will give you more than you’d ever expect. It might not look anything like you’d expected, and sometimes it means moving to a state you’ve only visited a few times.

But as He’s been moving my life around lately, it’s been full of grace and careful attention to detail and nothing short of glacial proportions.

What a life of beautifully unexpected plot twists we live, and oh what a blessing it is to be loved and surprised in the midst of it.

In the next coming days I will be posting my first series: Eastward Bound. Stay tuned as I travel across country in a fifty-four foot RV—an adventure in itself whilst making some of the most memorable memories.

Plot Twist, Uptown Maven