I've officially hit my 6 month of living in Indiana I think tomorrow. It's crazy to think that I've been here this long and how much has changed in that time.
You might ask, "Kayla, why would you choose Indiana/the midwest in general." Well, my now fiancé was born and raised here. We imagined once we were married to move back here at some point to raise our kids. The way Josh described his childhood here made it hard not to.
Deciding to move was such a hard decision to make when I had grown so comfortable in California. In that time leading up, I really had to just lean on the Lord and allow for the path He wanted for me to be known. He made it quite apparent when every single door was made in Indiana and was so easy. Whereas thinking of Washington I was really forcing certain things to be able to work.
But, my intent with Indiana was to start a 2-year teacher program where I would get the necessary classes in to be able to become a teacher. I don't know if you guys felt the same, but I've never had this idea of a dream career. I've never thought, "I want to be ____ when I grow up." I was lucky I even decided a college to go to. I knew I really enjoyed being around kids and I love being able to help/encourage others. I figured that would be a good job!
6 months later, I never did the program. Doors started to close in that area and opened up in others. I've found two amazing nanny jobs that I couldn't have been more grateful of, started to get more involved in our local church, started to build new friendships in the state, and now I get to add planning a wedding into all of it.
This isn't to say everything has been easy up until this point. I've had a few really low moments where I doubted the plan God had for me, I've doubted myself and my purpose, and though there's amazing people here, I still felt lonely. A reminder I kept getting from others was just to trust in the timing of it all. As much as I wanted to force things into the moment, that wasn't the ultimate plan. I was so concerned about controlling every aspect of my life that I missed moments along the way.
I can confidently say I feel more settled now that I have so far. My relationship with Josh has only grown more in this time. I've been even more intentional with calling my family especially with a 3 hour time difference. I've been trying to reach out to friends, but I'm far from successful. Just post-grad things.
When I do my next 6 month update, it'll be the night before my wedding day! That's actually insane...