Finding a Place to Belong

So, we've been in our new hometown for almost a year now. I don't think it is any secret that we've had a hard time finding our place here. Unlike the three previous cities we've lived in, this one is not easy to break into. The other hometowns were much more transitional, used to people coming and going and welcoming new folks with open arms. This hometown is not that way. I think at least 75% of the people we've met here have lived here their whole life. And that's not a bad thing. But it does make it harder when you're the new family on the block. Everyone seems to already have their circle of friends and there isn't much room for you, even though they aren't trying to be rude or exclusive--there is just so much social space in your life. I get it. But we aren't all lucky enough to have our best friend from kindergarten living in the same town.

We do have family here, which is awesome. And we have a couple of college friends and a few friends from the Gent's work. But no married couples with little ones. It would be nice to have some friends in the same stage of life we are in.

All of this has been compounded by not having a home church for eleven months.

We've finally made a decision on that. There were three churches we really liked and visited for a few months each, but we've finally committed to a community church of about 1500 people. Big enough for lots of opportunities but small enough that you can still get to know people. They have a great kids program for Annie and I am joining the worship team. Small groups will start meeting in the fall and we're looking forward to getting plugged in. I was really hoping to find a more diverse church, but after visiting all over the place I'm convinced that church just doesn't exist yet in our city. We'll get there. Our new home church is working on that--they really have a heart not only for the nations, but for our city. We're excited to be part of it.

A toast to finding our niche!