Bigger Places

If you don’t know me, I am so happy to meet you and welcome! Buckle up for this wild journey of a girl who is just trying to figure life out with God by her side. Lets just dive in... I am 19 years old from a small town in South Georgia. I am married to the love of my life & high school sweetheart, Andrew Garrido. I seriously do not know where I would be without this man. God definitely outdid himself making this man for me, blessed is an UNDERSTATEMENT. For as long as I can remember, I have always known that I was destined for a bigger place and a bigger plan than just the small town I was living in. I could never figure out what it was and I caught myself setting goals to reach that would give a temporary happiness... was I supposed to be cheer captain? homecoming queen? graduate as valedictorian? There are many more and although I was none of these things, I strived for them harder than anything else. So hard that I lost myself in the process, I lost my relationship with God. When I realized this, I found myself becoming distant from wanting to be those things. Everyone started to question my why I started to lose interest in things your typical high schooler focuses on. But it’s because God started to plant seeds in me. My mindset changed from “how many things and titles can I accomplish in high school?” to “how many people can I draw closer to God, how can I become closer to Him?” I learned that I needed to get my heart in the right place in order to achieve these goals.

Later on, Andrew and I rekindled our love that has been there Forever. I knew this man was going to be my husband and HELLO, he is. I love this human with every ounce of my being. Not only did I know that I was destined for something/someplace bigger, I knew Andrew was too. There has always been something special about him and his heart and I ADORE him. Marriage is unlike anything else in this world. When the Bible compares Gods love and a marriage, it is absolutely correct. It’s rewarding, sometimes messy, but ALWAYS perseveres. Marriage has opened my eyes so much to reveal how much God loves us. I think all the time about my love for my husband and if I love him this dang much, it’s unfathomable to think about how much our Creator loves us!!!! But man, it comforts me and makes me feel so worthy to think about His love. Time passed and Andrew and I got engaged, endured some amazing times and some sad times. This season of life was more than anything I could have asked for: I lived with my fiancé and his AMAZING family, I was surrounded by my favorite people on earth and life was just good.

I have known for most of our lives that Andrew wanted to join the military (considering we knew each other since the fourth grade). But the reality did not hit me until I was saying goodbye to him for 6 months as I sent him off to join the United States Marine Corps. This broke my heart and I was devastated.. I went from spending every waking second with him and now he’s just gone. Our communication for the first 3 months was letters only but each letter felt like Christmas. Finally we got some phone calls and he got to come home for 10 days from training & I couldn’t wait to marry him any longer so we got married the day after he came home. During his time at training, Andrew found out that we were getting stationed in Hawaii. It’s awesome and glamorous to think about until you have to do all the behind the scenes work and have to move 5,000+ miles away from family and everything you’ve ever known. It was scary and made me anxious and all the things. But with Gods reassurance and the wonderful family I married into, the brace for impact became softer and softer.

Now here we are at 19 and 21, have a house in Oahu, Hawaii, and 2 of the sweetest fur babies. To think that this was my future is insane. Oh the things I would tell my 15/16 year old self in high school... at this point and season in my life, I feel content. I feel peace and confidence that i am where I am supposed to be at this exact moment. Bigger places & bigger things are coming, just be still... hold on... and let God take care of you. Just praise Him, give Him glory & thanks, and He will meet you right where you are.