People Here Are Too Nice

When I visited Nashville this last November, I remarked at how nice, kind, warm, and friendly people were here. The fact that I took time to notice this (to notice: something Jared is terrible at) made clear to me that there is something unique about the culture and community here. Living here has only solidified that observation.

About two weeks ago I had to renew my license. This was a much greater ordeal than I anticipated. I scoured the internet to find out what resources I was required to have in my employ upon reaching the “Driver Services Center” here in Nashville, but due to my living situation and lack of job, I was sorely out of luck in all areas. All I had was my Oregon license, my Social Security Card, and a piece of mail addressed to me at our basement in West. 

I waited in line for two hours. Well, let me clarify: I waited in line for an hour and 45 minutes, started to drive away, then got a text from their line queue program saying my number was coming up. So, after a little over two hours of waiting, I got up to the front, where a friendly government employee was helping me out. She gave me an affidavit of residency, so that someone could vouch that I lived at the place I did, and said I needed some mail or my car registration. Tricky part, however, was that the mail’s address had to be typed out, but not as a package label…so I didn’t have that, and then my car wasn’t registered in Tennessee yet, so there was that. Ugh.

However, she wrote on my renewal form that I could just come to the front of the line when I returned. Not only that, but when I returned and didn’t have everything I needed, she STILL gave me my license, and just said, “If you can come back in later today and show me another document, that’d be great, but if not, don’t worry about it." 

You gotta be kidding me.

Even people at church are crazy nice…I met a few people from Ethos when I visited in November, and every one of them remembered me, if not by name, then that I was from Portland. They all eagerly welcomed me to Nashville. There’s just something unique about this city, a warm, tender-hearted vibe that supersedes so many differences and contentions. Honestly, I can see so much of the gospel in it. There’s a genuine nature to this warmth that many of us Jesus followers could learn from.

JOB UPDATE

In the last two weeks I've finally landed not one, but TWO jobs! I work at a killer gelato shop in Edgehill called Legato Gelato, and have had to up my running game to compete with the amount of gelato I’m taking in. I also got a job at Apple in Green Hills, training for which I will be beginning this weekend. 

I cannot thank all my friends and family enough for keeping me in their thoughts and prayers. I knew moving was right, and that God has been behind me, so I had full confidence that He would provide with perfect timing. Despite my faith, ("I believe! Help my unbelief!” Mk. 9:24), I began to worry that I would need to borrow money or something to make March work…but God is the Lord of all, and knows how to bring about the best for His children (especially when I don’t see it coming). Even getting those two jobs was a huge story of awesome things being divinely orchestrated. So I’m pumped.