Florida is a change of pace!

Such a perfect play on words! We are living in the Pensacola area. (Area being the key word in that sentence.) Our specific town is called Pace, FL and it sits 20 miles between the two work locations my husband will have during our stay here. He'll begin working at the Pensacola base and then switch to the Whiting-Field base during his flight training. Instead of moving, we opted to just live right in between. So Pace, Florida is our new home. (Don't worry change of address cards coming in the near future!)

The only similarities between Pace, FL and Alexandria, VA is that they are both located in the US. Pace is your typical country town. I began to realize just how small and quaint it was when I called to setup our water utility. I called, expected to hear a dial-in automated system with selections to choose from. Option 1 for new service, option 2 for billing questions, et cetera. I was quite surprised to hear two short rings and an elderly lady answer the phone, "Pace Water" in the countriest accent I've heard since living in Texas! I told her I needed to setup new service and she said, "come on in and see me." What? I was shocked. No website. No mail in orders. Simply, come in person with an ID and a check book. WOW!

(Should I also mention that on my way home from the water company, we had to come to a stop on one of the neighborhood roads to allow the turkeys to pass?!?!?!?)

As we drove around our neighborhood to get acquainted, I began to realize how much I liked the change of pace. When you wake in the morning, you don't hear cars, just birds chirping in the trees. When you step outside late at night, you don't see tall buildings around you...you see the stars. It's incredibly peaceful and a nice change of speed from the DC metro area. What I miss most about Alexandria are my friends. There isn't a day that has passed, thus far, that I haven't had the urge to hop in the car and drive to see Marian for some homemade muffins. Every 5 minutes I think of a reason to pop by Marquet's house, only to realize it's no longer just 5 minutes away. When the first Sunday passed that I knew hearing my dear friend Kati singing my favorite hymns on stage during worship was not an option, I began to tear.

The more time I spend here in Pace, I realize I am very grateful to have the opportunity to follow my husband on this journey. It's not every family that gets to explore different parts of the world every few years. Though it's a sacrifice, it's also a huge blessing. Moving away from VA has also shown me how very intentionally God planted me in Alexandria, VA amongst spiritually mature and God-invested girlfriends to grow. Mid-growth, He has now moved us to sew seeds in other parts of the country with other folks we meet. I look forward to getting knee-deep in my community here and continuing to harvest the goodness from my Virginia girlfriends.