Changes, Choices, and Callings. (By: Jessica)

I moved to South Carolina 7 years ago.



By myself.



8 hours away from my family and closest friends.



I knew NO ONE. Not a soul.



People thought I was crazy for doing this.



It was the best/easiest decision I ever made.



It was weird how it all happened, but then again, not weird at all. It all fell into place, I guess.



Here is how it all started.....



I was heart broken. A relationship I was in for the past year had just ended and left me devastated and depressed. That break-up blind-sided me, and I didn't quite know what to do with myself or my life at that point. All I knew was that I couldn't stay in Findlay if I ever wanted to move on. It was doing nothing but bringing me down and I found myself looking for "his" car everywhere I went. I felt like an undercover officer on a steak-out. It was messing with my mind and toying with my emotions. This was not "me" and I needed a fresh start somewhere new.



South Carolina WAS NOT what I had in mind. Anywhere else in the Good Ole' Buckeye State would have been just fine. But..... apparently God had other plans.



That break-up was not the only thing that led me to want to pack up and move. There were a lot circumstances that added fuel, to that already blazing fire.

• My Dad had recently passed away and missing him was about to kill me. Everything reminded me of him and everyone had a story to tell or share about him.





• My Mom was doing the best she could to keep herself together, she didn't have time to worry about what I was doing or going through. Watching her grieve was hard and I felt in the way....




• My sister had just left me......er........moved to California. I didn't know when she would be back.





• I had just lost a teaching job that I adored, due to certification issues, and it was becoming clear that I was not going to be able to teach the following school year.





• A retail job was all I had left to turn to, and the thought of that made me want to gag myself to death with a rusty hanger.




• My party life was getting outta hand, and was all I had to look forward to anymore.




• My dog died.




• I lost my left leg when I got hit by shrapnel during the war. (OK...that didn't happen. But that's how bad things seemed at this point....)

SO, needlessly to say, I was not in the best place. Physically, mentally, or emotionally.
It was late one evening and I was at the library using the Internet. (My social life was outta control exciting!) I was filling out job application #431 and preparing to sign up for a job fair that was coming to town.

As I was looking through the schools that would be attending the job fair, I noticed that there were A LOT of schools from South Carolina that would be at this job fair. A LOT. Like 45.



I thought to myself, hummm..... that's weird. South Carolina must need teachers......bad.


Hummmm?


I need a job.....bad.


What if.......


And before I knew it, I found myself at the South Carolina State Department of Education website, filling out an application.


In the section where it asks "what school in South Carolina do you want to be considered for?" I checked "ALL".


Why not? It's not like I had a preference.


It took a total of (3) days for my phone to ring.


I came home from (somewhere) and noticed a message on our answering machine.


It was from a man named Charlie Mayfield. He was a principal at (some school. I couldn't understand half of the stuff he was saying due to his thick southern accent) and wanted me to call him back about scheduling a possible interview.


Whhhhhhat?


I thought about it for 6 seconds, rolled my eyes, and went about my day. But, I didn't delete the message. I saved it. For later.


A few days later, after a lot of praying, thinking, considering, and debating.....I called him back.


His voice was kind and gentle and his personality was upbeat and positive. He asked if I'd be willing to come for an interview. I said "Sure."


I called my friend, Jayme, and asked her if she would be up for a road trip. Her response was one I was expecting..... and 2 days later, with a car full of junk food, homemade CD's, and mapquest directions, we hit the road.


The rest is pretty much history.... the interview went great. I got offered a job teaching 7th and 8th grade creative writing at Ware Shoals Jr. High. Go Hornet's! Jayme and I had a great time exploring Greenville. My sister and I went back a couple weeks later to find me a place to live. (THAT was exciting and a totally different story for another time!) I packed up my life and moved to SC a month later.


People used to ask me all the time, "How did you EVER end up in a small town like Ware Shoals??!"


I never felt like I "ended up" here.


I was led here.


I was placed here.


I was called here. (literally..... by God and Charlie Mayfield! lol!)


No one would "choose" to be in a place like Ware Shoals. Not because it is a terrible place (cause it's the far from it), but because it is such a tiny speck on the map. Ware Shoals reminds me of Mayberry, or some place like that. It's small. Very small. It's quaint. It's tucked away. People don't "move to Ware Shoals". The majority of people who live here grew up here. I know it sounds cliche, but everyone knows everyone in Ware Shoals. For a couple years, I was labeled "the new teacher from Ohio". I was obviously not from around these parts. I mean, I said "pop", I didn't say "ya'll", "sir", or "mam", I didn't know what boiled peanuts were, and I didn't know how to make grits. I didn't belong. But I still stayed and MADE them like me. And eventually they did.


Sometimes I think about my journey to South Carolina and wonder "how I made it?". How did I make it all the way here without a GPS system? How did I never get homesick? How did I not get scared living by myself in a sketchy part of town? How did I manage to stay on budget and not go bankrupt? How did I manage to make friends and keep them? How did I manage to convince Toby to follow me here? How did I.......survive?


Well, apparently I did, cause here we are, 7 years later, and happier than ever.


Never in a million years did I ever think I'd stay here this long. I figured I'd stay a year, teach the school year, make a few memories, live a little on the wild side, and move home. Badda Bing. Badda Boom.


I never imagined that I'd fall in love, get married, start a family, and call the Palmetto State, "home".


Funny how things work out.


The people who are part of my life here are people who were placed in my life by God himself, that I am sure of. Only someone like Him could hand-pick these folks. They are one-of-a-kind. Toby and I don't have a TON of friends here..... but we have some pretty darn great ones. It's amazing the things God can do and the places and people He can lead you to.


I KNOW (without a doubt) I was able to survive this life change because of people like Whitney ans Mark Koeppen, Gene Wood, Jennifer and Phil Browning, George and Cara Sutherland, Chris Bench, Maria Beckner, The McCall Family, Amy Crockett, and Charlie and Shea Mayfield. These are the faces that welcomed me/us here, when we were brand new to "The South" and needed to be taught how to survive in this new world. These people were here right at the beginning. If I had never met them, I GUARANTEE you, I would have thrown in the towel, packed up my junk, and high-tailed it back to Ohio. But, thanks to these people......I stayed. And Toby stayed too.


In the time since "the beginning" we have made some additional friends, who are equalivant to our family. For all these people, we are forever grateful.


I feel so blessed for all God has given me since I took this adventure by myself, 7 years ago. It's scary to me to think how my life would have ended up or where I would have been if I had not made the choices that I did.


This song, LISTEN HERE, means a lot to me and does an amazing job of explaining my choices. I think I played it 3,000 times in my car on the drive down here, when my car was packed to the ceiling with everything I owned. I remember feeling terrified, confused, unsure, anxious, nervous, excited, and totally clueless during that 8 hour drive. But, this song put me at ease, gave me some confidence, and kept my foot on the accelerator. Without it, I might have turned around somewhere between Lexington and Knoxville, and headed back to familiar territory. I think my pointer finger was numb from hitting the repeat button by the time I reached interstate 85.


Anyway- Just wanted to share that with you.


Or maybe I just wanted to remind myself of why I am here.


Either way, that's the story.