Welcome to Oxford

From my bench at Square Books

Well, it's been a busy week, but a great one! I moved to Oxford a week ago today, though it seems like it’s been about a decade. A weekend of meeting people and moving in, two days of orientation with RUF staff, and three days of freshmen move-in later, I’m loving Oxford and feeling like a weathered resident. Right now as I sit on my porch it is a beautiful sunny and cool Saturday morning, which started with a trip to the Farmer’s Market and will soon continue with a bike trip to Taylor, MS for lunch.

And now, for the first time since the incipient two months of my life, I’m a Mississippi girl once again. For the past week, I’ve been finding signs that I am no longer in Nashville or Winston-Salem anymore. Here are some things I’ve found about living in Mississippi, particularly, Oxford:

- “Come on” is not said properly until the “on” sounds like “own”. “Come own, y’all!” I learned this from Kevin Teasley, but my suspicion has been confirmed here in Oxford.

- Chicken, unless otherwise specified on the menu (which it rarely is), is not grilled, baked, or blackened. It is fried. Deep fried. With the grease dripping off of it. It is SO good.

- Gas stations are not just gas stations. Maybe it’s just in Oxford, but every gas station seems to have its specialty. After many driving tours of Oxford given by friends, I’ve learned which one is the chicken salad gas station, which one is the barbeque gas station, which one is the frozen yogurt gas station, the warm cookie gas station, the chicken-on-a-stick gas station, the original chicken-on-a-stick gas station, and I think that’s just the beginning. More to come as I discover new gas station specialties.

- Nike shorts are a must.

- Everybody knows everybody. Who’s dated everybody. Whose mothers’ were sorority sisters. Whose grandparents were across the street neighbors. Etc., etc. I believe my birth in Jackson (technically, Flowood), gives me some legitimacy here that I otherwise might lack. Because now, my grandparents know their grandparents who swam at the club together whose dogs went on walks together whose nephews were best friends, etc.

These discoveries are just the beginning.

This week, RUF really kicks off. We have the first large group on Wednesday, and I think this week I’ll get to hang out with a lot of students. Right now I am so excited – a little overwhelmed, because it seems like there’s so much to do and so many people to see, but I know I just have to take it one day at a time. A recurring lesson in my life is that many things are out of my control. Over the summer, this really struck me as I learned that I could not raise support through my own strength. No matter how I worked out the numbers in my head, it never added up. Getting through the summer took some surrendering to the Lord, trusting that He would get me to where I needed to be: and here I am in Oxford!

Now I’m realizing that starting at Ole Miss is also going to be a lesson in trusting His plan. After meeting so many people over the last few days, I’m fighting being overwhelmed; there’s just so much to do! I wish I could hang out with all of those girls today, and drive them all to church tomorrow, but I have neither the hours in my day nor the space in my car to be able to do that. So, today, I’ll do what I can and what I feel I should do, and trust that God will take me at the pace He wants to the places He wants. I find so much rest in that belief. Here we go, Ole Miss.

The Calm Before the Storm

I've now had a few days to recover from the second week of RUF Staff Training in Atlanta, and it was great. This time around, all the campus ministers and all the interns were there, and between meetings all day and some one I just HAD to talk to every time I turned around, it a was a busy and fun week. The four of us with Ole Miss RUF cooked out at Hammond's house one night, and I think that it's gonna be a good year with this group.

Earlier this week I got a call from the RUF office that I have officially been cleared to move (thus I am past 75% of my support), and I can't tell you the relief and thanks that comes with this. I am humbled and encouraged to have so many people behind me in this endeavor.

Throughout the summer I've been occasionally meeting students and gathering names, but in a couple weeks, the whole meeting people thing will explode. I can't wait for it. I really am so excited to get started! I think the anxiety will set in soon, but I'm still just looking the experience, hoping I can do my job, learn a lot, and have some fun along the way.

On Sunday I'm going to be commissioned by my home church, which is really a blessing but a little scary. There are A LOT of people at Christ Pres. Then next week will consist of packing up my things and spending some time with Nashville people, before I make the move on Saturday the 15th!

But for now I have one more day at the beach with my family, where my grandmother and I tried to catch fish with our hands yesterday and where my niece just learned to say my name, and where I see a game of cards, a book, and a nap in my future. After that some good time home in Nashville.

And then... Oxford!