Dear Breckenridge, Texas
You were only a blip on my horizon,
a short, but meaningful chapter of my life,
a place that I never expected to grow me
the way you quietly and softly did.
You held me in a season
when I was learning to trust the process,
listening to God in the stillness,
learning to walk a path that’s not finished.
I landed on the small dot on the map,
taking the chance on myself
to go halfway across the country,
without really knowing what was waiting for me.
What I found wasn’t obvious at first,
it was far from perfect,
but I dang sure did grow from it,
taking away lessons I will always carry.
You taught me that growth is subtle,
quiet as a sunrise,
slow as a prayer whispered in the dark.
You showed me that God works
even in the places I never planned to be,
and that sometimes the detours
are where He does His best work.
Patience is a virtue,
and man, did He ever teach me patience here,
as I learned to slow down and really listen,
take things in as they come.
You became the place where I learned
that stillness isn’t the same as stagnation,
that waiting can be holy,
and that God often speaks loudest
in the moments I tried hardest to rush through.
So this is where I say goodbye,
but not before I say thank you,
because it was your gratitude, your acceptance,
and the way you never treated me as an outsider
but as one of your own
that made me feel welcome.
You wrapped me in the sort of kindness
that I never expected this far away from home,
a steady, everyday grace that met me
in the grocery aisles, in city and county meetings,
on the sidelines at sporting events,
in the quiet conversations that reminded me
I wasn’t as alone as I thought.
You became a place where strangers
turned into familiar faces,
and those familiar faces turned into people
who cheered me on when I most needed it.
The bumps in the road that I went through
turned into not so much a burden
when you were there to support me,
pray for me, and wrap that kindness
around me like a warm blanket.
You showed up in ways I didn’t expect,
in moments when I didn’t know
how much I needed someone to stand beside me.
And it is because of that support I haven’t lost my drive,
my drive for writing, my drive for wanting to
make a difference in this world.
I didn’t fall on my face alone,
you were the safety net to soften my landing,
being the bridge to get back to Pennsylvania,
avoiding the feeling of being on an island alone.
You reminded me that God provides
not just in miracles,
but in people —
in the hands that steady us,
the voices that encourage us,
the small-town kindness
that feels a lot like grace.
So again, thank you, Breckenridge
and thank you, Texas,
you will always be in my heart
no matter where I end up.
You may have been a blip on my radar,
but in no way does that make you
a forgetful place, city or state.
Maybe in another life, I could see myself
staying here longer or even for life,
but that is just not God’s plan for me.
And that’s okay.
Because His plans have carried me this far,
and they’ll carry me the rest of the way home.
I leave with gratitude,
with lessons I didn’t expect to learn,
and with a faith that grew roots
in your quiet, dusty soil.
At the end of this month,
I’ll officially be on my way,
stepping into the next chapter
with everything you’ve poured into me.
This is my goodbye,
but it’s also my thank you —
for the growth,
for the grace,
for the gentle way you held me
while God prepared my next step.
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