it’s hard.

I find myself saying it all the time. But I don’t honestly remember saying it much at all last year. Being away from home for a year wasn’t hard. I knew where I was supposed to be then. I knew the people I was with. And it was easy to be loved and cared for on the race. I had an entire squad of people loving me so well. We lived together. We were all chasing the same thing.

But being home–it’s hard.

I’ve been off the World Race for six months now.

My friend, teammate, and squamate Paige said, upon coming home, “Remember when leaving for the World Race was ruining our lives because we had to leave everything? Now leaving the World Race is ruining our lives.”

I left the World Race with next to no plans coming home. I took a job back in Manhattan because I thought it would be good to be back for a season. I’m now wondering if I wasn’t supposed to come back.

In so many ways, being here doesn’t feel like it did when I left. To quote a dear friend from my squad, “You’re a changed woman in the same old sleepy town. I’m not sure which is a bigger adjustment.”

I’m not adjusting well. I miss my squad. I miss being surrounded by people who were so intentional. I used to always be the person who was intentional with everyone else, and I’m having a hard time being that again.

God pulled me out of Manhattan for a year. I saw a lot. I experienced a lot. There were things that were difficult about being gone–don’t get me wrong. But the hardest part is still home. It’s hard.

The thing with the Race, was it was easy to be intentional with people when you’re living with them, and see them every day. That’s not the case right now for me. I don’t see most of my friends every day, or even every week. Some even every two weeks. But I’m also not going out of my way to be intentional with them.

Are you being intentional with the people in your life?

Today, I encourage you to call that friend. Go get coffee with the one you’ve been putting off because you’re too busy. Hit pause on it. Remember that the people around you need you to love them. They need your love and attention and care. And you need them just the same.

We aren’t meant to go through this life alone. We weren’t created for it. We’re meant to live in community. Meant to do life–together. The entire reason we were ever created was to be in community. With God. With Jesus. With Holy Spirit. With one another.