About four and a half weeks ago I came to Sacramento to interview for a position as a chaplain resident at UC Davis Medical Center.
The interview was on Friday at 1. At 2:20 or so the interview concluded and a current resident took me on a tour of the hospital while the committee members present for my interview discussed their thoughts.
At roughly 2:40 the chaplain was paged and asked to bring me back to the room, the committee wanted to see me.
At about 2:50 the committee asked me to join their current residency to fill a position that had just opened up, stay through the summer, and continue straight into the next residency year, completing 6 CPE units in 1 1/2 years.
When would I start? How soon would I have to move here?
As soon as possible. (Well, actually they said Monday would be preferable. I might have laughed and said it was not physically possible for me to drive to Sacramento by Monday even if I were in St. Louis, packed and ready to go.)
Thankfully we were able to negotiate a slightly later date.
Shocked at the unexpected offer and stunned by the thought of packing up my life and moving 2,000 miles across the country in a week, I asked for some time to consider the offer. After about 24 hours of wrestling with my decision, talking to family and many of my trusted friends, I decided to accept the offer.
Immediately, I began making plans to make that happen, adjusting flight schedules, staying longer in Sacramento in order to attend a required orientation that is only offered once a month, looking at dozens of apartments online and in person and selecting one of the many options. I flew to St. Louis where I spent the next few days packing up my room, choosing what I could stuff in my car, what could easily be shipped, and what had to be left behind. I spent time with my parents, even squeezing in time to go to the zoo and enjoy some good meals together.
Three weeks ago today, I began a 2,000 mile journey to Sacramento, CA with my dog in the passenger seat and most of my possessions in the back. This 4 day drive would prove to be one of the greatest adventures of my life to date and, in a sense, a rite of passage. At times I still can hardly believe I have actually MOVED here. It seems like a long working trip or something. But, here I am. Living in California.
So, why California?
Well, there are a few reasons.
1) Timing. The three(ish) months I spent in St. Louis were good in some ways, but were very hard in others. I was feeling very purposeless and, as a result, very unhappy. For goodness sake, I hadn't even been able to find a part-time job as I had hoped. Sitting around the house, snowed in much of the time, took its toll on me. I missed being with friends, I missed being productive (surprisingly enough) and most of all I missed being involved in things that actually matter. Hospital chaplaincy, while very tiring and taxing in many ways, is also very life-giving to me. I feel as if I am doing some amount of good and am actively working toward the reconciliation I know God desires to bring about in our broken world. Every other offer I received would have started in the summer (late May and early June) and the summer would have been an unpaid internship. Instead, I got to start immediately doing what I love and I get paid for all of it. Pretty good (and rare) deal if you ask me.
2) Diversity. I have done all of my training in hospital chaplaincy in Texas. Furthermore, I have spent much of my life in the Bible Belt and all of it in the South. In order to become a more well-rounded chaplain, I know I need to have a wide variety of experiences. That means, I need to work with a wide variety of people. Sacramento is not only out of the south and Bible Belt, it is (from what I have heard) considered the most integrated city in the country. So, not only is it diverse, but it is integrated. (Totally different from my minimal exposure to diversity where there is clear separation.) I have been overwhelmed by the diversity. Every time I go into Target or Wal-Mart or, really, anywhere, I hear at LEAST four or five languages being spoken. I frequently see people dressed in traditional Indian or African clothing or Muslims and Sikhs wearing their distinctive garments. It is amazing and beautiful and I am excited to learn even more about the wide variety of people in our country and how I can better minister to them.
3) Personal Growth. In my past, I have had trouble being my own person. That sounds weird, but it is a very true description, and it is true in many ways. I feel like I need to continue exploring who I am, who God has created me to be, including both my strengths and growth areas. I have often let my relationships with other people (both individuals and groups) define me, for better and worse. It is time for me to find confidence in myself not because of the relationships I am in, but because God created me in God's image and calls me good. So, while I have had many people tell me that I have been incredibly brave to move to a town where I literally knew no one, I think that, at least in part, I moved in order to become brave. To become confident in the woman God created me to be, so that I can more healthily and fully engage in the relationships that I so highly value.
4) Why not? I have loved California every time I have visited. The weather is great and it's beautiful - even the weeds here are pretty! I am about an hour away from San Francisco (and the beach), about 1 1/2 hours away from the mountains in Lake Tahoe, and about an hour from Napa Valley. How many times have I heard people say they wish they had done something adventurous when they were young? I'm young and single and if I am ever going to do something like this, now is the time.
So there you have it. That is the whirlwind that brought me here to Sacramento, California. It has been chaotic and crazy, but it has also been a time full of much thought and intentionality. Now it's time to make the most of it.
The interview was on Friday at 1. At 2:20 or so the interview concluded and a current resident took me on a tour of the hospital while the committee members present for my interview discussed their thoughts.
At roughly 2:40 the chaplain was paged and asked to bring me back to the room, the committee wanted to see me.
At about 2:50 the committee asked me to join their current residency to fill a position that had just opened up, stay through the summer, and continue straight into the next residency year, completing 6 CPE units in 1 1/2 years.
When would I start? How soon would I have to move here?
As soon as possible. (Well, actually they said Monday would be preferable. I might have laughed and said it was not physically possible for me to drive to Sacramento by Monday even if I were in St. Louis, packed and ready to go.)
Thankfully we were able to negotiate a slightly later date.
Shocked at the unexpected offer and stunned by the thought of packing up my life and moving 2,000 miles across the country in a week, I asked for some time to consider the offer. After about 24 hours of wrestling with my decision, talking to family and many of my trusted friends, I decided to accept the offer.
Immediately, I began making plans to make that happen, adjusting flight schedules, staying longer in Sacramento in order to attend a required orientation that is only offered once a month, looking at dozens of apartments online and in person and selecting one of the many options. I flew to St. Louis where I spent the next few days packing up my room, choosing what I could stuff in my car, what could easily be shipped, and what had to be left behind. I spent time with my parents, even squeezing in time to go to the zoo and enjoy some good meals together.
Three weeks ago today, I began a 2,000 mile journey to Sacramento, CA with my dog in the passenger seat and most of my possessions in the back. This 4 day drive would prove to be one of the greatest adventures of my life to date and, in a sense, a rite of passage. At times I still can hardly believe I have actually MOVED here. It seems like a long working trip or something. But, here I am. Living in California.
So, why California?
Well, there are a few reasons.
1) Timing. The three(ish) months I spent in St. Louis were good in some ways, but were very hard in others. I was feeling very purposeless and, as a result, very unhappy. For goodness sake, I hadn't even been able to find a part-time job as I had hoped. Sitting around the house, snowed in much of the time, took its toll on me. I missed being with friends, I missed being productive (surprisingly enough) and most of all I missed being involved in things that actually matter. Hospital chaplaincy, while very tiring and taxing in many ways, is also very life-giving to me. I feel as if I am doing some amount of good and am actively working toward the reconciliation I know God desires to bring about in our broken world. Every other offer I received would have started in the summer (late May and early June) and the summer would have been an unpaid internship. Instead, I got to start immediately doing what I love and I get paid for all of it. Pretty good (and rare) deal if you ask me.
2) Diversity. I have done all of my training in hospital chaplaincy in Texas. Furthermore, I have spent much of my life in the Bible Belt and all of it in the South. In order to become a more well-rounded chaplain, I know I need to have a wide variety of experiences. That means, I need to work with a wide variety of people. Sacramento is not only out of the south and Bible Belt, it is (from what I have heard) considered the most integrated city in the country. So, not only is it diverse, but it is integrated. (Totally different from my minimal exposure to diversity where there is clear separation.) I have been overwhelmed by the diversity. Every time I go into Target or Wal-Mart or, really, anywhere, I hear at LEAST four or five languages being spoken. I frequently see people dressed in traditional Indian or African clothing or Muslims and Sikhs wearing their distinctive garments. It is amazing and beautiful and I am excited to learn even more about the wide variety of people in our country and how I can better minister to them.
3) Personal Growth. In my past, I have had trouble being my own person. That sounds weird, but it is a very true description, and it is true in many ways. I feel like I need to continue exploring who I am, who God has created me to be, including both my strengths and growth areas. I have often let my relationships with other people (both individuals and groups) define me, for better and worse. It is time for me to find confidence in myself not because of the relationships I am in, but because God created me in God's image and calls me good. So, while I have had many people tell me that I have been incredibly brave to move to a town where I literally knew no one, I think that, at least in part, I moved in order to become brave. To become confident in the woman God created me to be, so that I can more healthily and fully engage in the relationships that I so highly value.
4) Why not? I have loved California every time I have visited. The weather is great and it's beautiful - even the weeds here are pretty! I am about an hour away from San Francisco (and the beach), about 1 1/2 hours away from the mountains in Lake Tahoe, and about an hour from Napa Valley. How many times have I heard people say they wish they had done something adventurous when they were young? I'm young and single and if I am ever going to do something like this, now is the time.
So there you have it. That is the whirlwind that brought me here to Sacramento, California. It has been chaotic and crazy, but it has also been a time full of much thought and intentionality. Now it's time to make the most of it.
