Heading West

Hello dear friends, we meet again.

So much has happened since my last posting! I really should have done one sooner.  Life has been moving fast, and I've barely been keeping up, but it's been amazing.

So to start...I'M IN GALWAY!

Probably not a surprise to most of you...but still. any excuse for a funny animal pic :)
Let me tell you how I got here...

It all started on Monday at 1:00 PM.  or 13:00 for all you Europeans.  I found out that I got the job at the lawyers office in Dublin as a junior law secretary.  I was very flattered, because I honestly didn't think I was going to get it. But right when I found out I got the job, I had this feeling of sadness.  Not because I didn't want the job, it sounds very interesting and I know I would enjoy it, but because I knew that meant I would be staying in Dublin.  Don't get me wrong, Dublin is awesome!  But I came to Ireland to see Ireland, and I had only been in this one city...

So I asked for a few days to think about it.  I told him I would decide by Thursday. Keep in mind this was Monday.  I knew before I said yes or no to the job I needed to see western Ireland and Galway to see how I felt about it.  So after spending a (sleepless) night in a Dublin hostel, I jumped on a train with all my belongings and headed west to Galway.

The whole way I just kept thinking, "Ok Lauren, if you can find a job in two days, then it is ok if you don't take the job in Dublin.  That is your time limit, 2 days. Please God, help me decide what I want."
Let me preface all of this to explain, it is very hard to get a job in Ireland right now.  I am being told that by every Irish person I meet.  So the fact that I even got an office job in Dublin is a big deal, and here I was, a pushy American girl who might possibly turn down a great job.  I just had to have a backup to justify moving to Galway with a job waiting for me in Dublin.

Let me just say God is AMAZING. Seriously and truly amazing.  He is so faithful, he makes his presence known! The second coffee shop I walked into in Galway hired me ON THE SPOT! So bam! I not only got a job in 2 days, I got a job in 20 minutes!!! I can't take any credit for this, it was the big man upstairs working his magic.  I wouldn't have even known about the shop except that the man working the front desk at my hostel told me to go there.

So with a job in tow, I felt so free to roam about the city.  Getting a feel for it and taking it in.  I fell in love that day.  I fell in love with Galway :) It is just so wonderful.  It feels so different from any city I've ever been in.  It is so small, yet has everything you could need.  You can walk anywhere in 15 min.  People are so very nice.  It is a college town, so there are a lot of people my age.  It is a great fit for me.  I've never felt more sure of a city.

After my walk about, I went to this coffee shop I read about online called An Tobar Nua (I still can't pronounce it correctly). And again, the Lord answered another prayer!  I met about 5 girls and a few guys who work there/hang out there a lot, and they immediately became my friends! They are so sweet and funny! Most of them are from America and they are working there or working nearby, but a few are from Ireland.  I also got invited to this to very interesting Bible Study class that night, and we took an in depth look at Romans.  I prayed (and I know many of you have been praying too, Thank you so much!!) for community over here, and I feel like I have found it.  I am going to church with some of them on Sunday.  Sometimes I can't stop smiling...

I had this feeling yesterday walking down the street here, I have never felt so completely blessed before.  I had set a near impossible goal for myself, and the Lord provided.  Nothing is impossible for the Lord.  It just proved that the feelings you get from your gut, the ones that sway your decisions and you don't really know why, you should listen to them.  I have always known I wouldn't set up camp in Dublin, and I didn't know why.  My gut told me that it wasn't going to be my home this year.

Go with your gut people.  Those feelings of wrong and right, those are from the Lord! We ignore them so much because they seem inexplicable, but isn't that what God is?  I mean, I even had dinner last night with my FRIENDS! My friends!!! Can you believe it?! Two blogs ago I was whining about not having eating companions, and a few short days later, I'm meeting friends for dinner.  Thank goodness because I was running out of things to stare at as I awkwardly ate alone.

Ok, I'm done for now. I have so much to say, but I will have to write another blog soon.  So many hilarious Hostel stories to tell.  sheesh...Hostels are weird. But I love them :)

For my next song on my Dreamchasing play list, I am going to go with a tune from my dear friend John Mayer.  I know he's got a lot of haters out there, but hey, haters gonna hate, that's fine.  I love him.  I have always loved him.  And I will always love him.  The man can play the guitar.  The man can write some catchy tunes.  But most importantly (for me) the man can write beautiful words that lull my heart into a coma. 

This one joins us from his new album entitled "Born and Raised".
The song is called "The Age of Worry" and it is wonderful. My favorite line is "Don't be scared to walk alone, Don't be scared to like it".  It reminds me that sometimes you have to do things that don't make sense, and everything tells you to think and to make the safe decision, but you have to take the risky route.  Which is really what this whole blog entry has been about... I also like the catchy little doodeedooodeedoo sound that it starts with. 

And say "Worry! Get out of here"
Until next time my friends,
Lauren
p.s. Pictures will come soon...I promise! I need to upload my new camera stuff onto  my laptop.