What if I fall? OH but my darling, what if you fly?

On Valentines day I celebrated my FIVE year anniversary of moving to Nashville. I am reflecting on how I got to be where I am and the journey I took to get here. Let's take a trip down memory lane and go back to Valentines day of 2015. It was BITTER cold, my parents and I loaded up their car and mine and we made the 9 hour drive to Nashville. I remember the drive so vividly because all I could think about was how I felt like my life was about to really begin. I had this overwhelming feeling of peace and positivity because I knew I was making the right decision as scary as it may have seemed to most. So many times people ask me "Weren't you scared moving to a new city alone and knowing no one?" And while I always think I should say yes, the truth is, I wasn't scared. I knew in every ounce of my body I was following my path. Everything was pointing to Nashville. God guided me in SO MANY ways to get here. So many things had to come together to make my move possible and everything fell right into place. My job. My apartment. My roommate (Love you Linz) I had just come out of a very toxic relationship that caused me to go through a very traumatic and turbulent few years, so moving to Nashville alone seemed like a cakewalk after that to be honest. I listened to God, trusted myself and sure enough he brought me through it, holding his hand and walking with me to Nashville. That may sound a bit cheesy but I can't put it any other way, it's just the absolute truth. It's MY truth.

I am very close with my parents so moving 9 hours away from them was probably the part I was most hung up on. But, we all knew it was what I needed and what was best for me. They were so supportive in every sense of the word. I couldn't have done it without their love and encouragement. There's a country song called "Roots and Wings" that says "he gave me roots, she gave me wings“ and it resonates so much with me because that's exactly what my parents gave me. I was raised in a small town in Virginia, in a house my dad built for our family. He gave me the strongest roots you can have and home will always ground me in a way like no where else. My Mama raised me to believe that I can do whatever I set out to do in life and she was always my biggest cheerleader. My mom has unwavering faith and because of her I learned how to listen when God is trying to tell me something, to take the leap of faith and he'll be with me on the other side. Without that faith, I don't think I would have trusted myself enough to make such a big move and change in my life. I'm forever grateful to my parents for giving me the stability and strength to trust myself to take risk and make life altering decisions.

I moved to Nashville single, living in an apartment downtown in the middle of all Nashville has to offer. It was such a FUN chapter of my life. I felt so free relying on myself for everything which was an incredible feeling. Standing on my own two feet, I felt confident and unapologetically myself. I found a side of myself I had never seen before and I was just so happy to meet a new part of me. There was one day, after about a month of living here I went on a run and I remember I stopped by the river to take in the view (or take a breather tbh) and I just started laughing and crying because I was so happy. I couldn't believe my life had turned out the way it did. I felt like I was right where I was meant to be and there is a euphoria that comes with that. Through the "free fall" I had found myself, I had found my wings.

About 6 months after moving here, I met my husband Braden. Read the story of how we met here. I have no doubt that God led me to Nashville to find myself and to find Braden. I wouldn’t have one without the other. Braden and I would not be together if I hadn't found myself first along the journey to find him. Together we have built a beautiful life. We got married in January of 2017 and welcomed our beautiful baby girl in February of 2018. We just built a house in the country just outside of Nashville and just like my dad did, he is giving Scarlett unbreakable roots and I pray I’m raising her to have a big and beautiful set of wings like my mom gave me.

So, if I can leave you with anything today, trust your gut, follow your heart, listen to your intuition and when life tells you to jump...JUMP and while you’re free falling, you’ll find your wings.

XO,

Sarah