Last night, I went to the first gathering of a new, summertime, 6-week Bible study. My sweet friend, Ellen, put together a great little hodge podge of friends and asked us to come to her house once a week to discuss a book and study God’s word. And, of course, hopefully get in some amazing fellowship in the mean time.
When I looked at the first list of people who would be participating, I thought I only knew a couple of the other women. And when I arrived last night, I realized that through some way or another (church, Bible study, preschool, word of mouth about a fabulous hair stylist) I knew almost everyone else in the room.
We each went around the room to introduce ourselves, and most of our stories didn’t revolve around our children or our daily activities, but they were stories that focused on what brought us all to Columbia, South Carolina.
How did we all end up in this big small town? (I say big small town because Columbia really isn’t small. If you include all of the little neighboring suburbs, Columbia is pretty dang big. But it’s also a really old, really Southern town, where everyone still seems to know everyone.)
I don’t believe in coincidences and I fully believe that God is in the details.
I ended up in Columbia, South Carolina because when I finished college at Louisiana Tech, I needed somewhere to go next. My parents had moved to Columbia a little over a year before I finished college, so I decided to move to Columbia to be close to them and to attend graduate school at the University of South Carolina.
I finished graduate school, took a job in Columbia because I still wanted to be near my family, and then about 10 months later, my parents moved to Dallas. (They have since moved to Indiana, where we moved in 1995, and they lived there for 8 years before moving to Columbia. They move around quite a bit, so it’s really no big deal to us.)
At my first job, I met Todd. He worked there, too. I’ve told that story before, so I won’t tell it all again.
So, you see? It was no coincidence that I moved here, stayed here to work instead of going away to a larger, more glamorous city. I was supposed to meet my husband. God had perfectly laid out this plan. His plan.
I’m one of those people that has moved around a whole lot in my life. And, yet, I’ve lived in Columbia, South Carolina longer than I’ve ever lived in any one place. And I didn’t move here until I was 21 years old.
It still makes me so sad that we are 12 hours away from my parents. (But it’s better than being 17 hours away from them when they lived in Dallas.) Trying to work out visits always stresses me out and I feel like I just can’t get there enough to see them. I wish so much that it was easier.
But I love this big small town.
What do I love about it?
I love the big parts. We have almost anything you could want when it comes to shopping. It’s not New York City, and it’s not even Charlotte. But we have a Trader Joe’s and a Whole Foods now. That’s a big deal to us!
I love the small parts. I can go almost anywhere in town and see at least one person that I know. I know a lot of that comes from living somewhere for nine years. But I just love how small things seem. We always seem to be running into the same people at football games, Starbucks, preschool, church, the park, Publix, and anywhere we go. I just love that! Community is so important to me.
I love our church. We attend Shandon Baptist Church and have loved investing in the church with time and service. The people there have become like family in so many ways, and we are just so blessed to have them here.
I love the South. South Carolina is deep south, y’all. There’s so much history here. Things here are very old. Historic homes, historic landmarks. The history is everywhere.
I love the surroundings. We’re an hour and a half from everywhere. We can get to Charlotte in 90 minutes for great shopping. We can get to Charleston in 90 minutes for the beach and general Charleston bliss. We can get to Greenville in 90 minutes to visit Todd’s alma mater, Furman University, and because we just love Greenville. (Not to steer the topic away from Columbia, but we really really love Greenville. You should visit if you haven’t before.)
I love the fun. We have zoos, parks, rivers, great/fantastic/amazing local restaurants, great shopping museums. We have plenty to do and plenty to keep our kiddos entertained and relatively cultured.
I love the people. I miss my family terribly, but we are so blessed to have Todd’s family here. And the amazing friends we have made through church, through Junior League, through our kids’ preschool, and just through mutual friends, like last night at Ellen’s house. I’m so so very thankful for the people.
Columbia is fantastic.
But I truly believe that God has put us where we are for a reason. No matter where he puts us, there is a purpose. There are people to be loved, churches to invest in, and fun new things to explore.
When I moved here nine years ago, I never ever imagined that the day would come when I wouldn’t be kicking and screaming about not getting to move to something bigger and better. But I truly love it here. With all of my heart.
While I do wish it was closer to my family, I love that we have put down roots here and that our children will grow up somewhere that they have roots, too.
So, how about you? How did you end up in the town or city where you live? Are you like me and have found yourself pleasantly surprised by how much you love where you live?
*I’m linking up with the Influence Network to share about where we live and why we love where we live.
We ended up in our small town by chance, looking for an affordable house closer to my husbands work. I now really love being where we are, away from the business of the city, but still close enough to run in for the fun stuff. 🙂
Nice shout-out to Greenville! It really is a fabulous place to live (or visit). Obviously, I live there. Born and raised 🙂
Hello from a “neighbor” in Greenville! 😉
I love hearing how you ended up in Columbia. God always has a path for us…we just have to listen and follow.
Such a great post! My husband and I lived in Columbia for about 6 months before moving back to our state of Michigan. We really loved it. It is a lot bigger than you think at first! We recently came back last month for a visit. It definitely feels like a second home to us. 🙂
We lived in Columbia (Blythewood) before we moved to Charleston. We loved it there. I made life long friends . We absolutely loved our house and hated to leave it 🙁 It was such a small town feel, and I loved that. Now we are in Pittsburgh and are moving to Annapolis in a few weeks. Hopefully we will find the perfect house, neighborhood and friends.
I am glad you’re here, and that God ran our paths together. xo
I love Columbia too. I attended undergraduate school there (Go Gamecocks!). Nothing like a native New Englander moving to the deep South. It was such an amazing experience. I love to visit and I also LOVE Charleston. So happy that you love it there too!
I’d love to live in Columbia again! It’s the perfect town geographically for us and it is so close to everyone that we love. Enjoy life in that sweet Southern town.
I do love where I live, but our motto as a military family is “HOME IS WHERE THE AIR FORCE SENDS US!’ We have always tried to make the best of it, wherever that may be. We always start with finding the perfect church & build from there! You KNOW we adore Columbia, SC and all it has to offer, and we’ve started to really enjoy San Antonio as well. However, you know my true home where I was raised has always held a special piece & place of my heart…good ole’ Dallas! So, Joey & I are sacrificing & saving & praying to hopefully make it back there in the near future(30 months….but who is counting?!). Loved this post & makes me miss the real South. We need to plan a trip back to see everyone as soon as we can. Miss & love you, friend!
I also live in Columbia and went grad school at USC! We go to Columbia Crossroads Church, but will be moving to Bangkok Thailand next month! So glad to have stumbled on over here! You are right, it is truly deep south with tons of history. I also love Whole Foods and did a little happy dance over the first Starbucks opened in Lexington (where we used to live)!
I’ve always wanted to visit the Carolinas, and your post makes me want to even more! Sounds beautiful.
I love this post. Reminds me of everything good about Columbia. I miss it. But I also love where we live, and I have no desire to leave. So happy we live close enough to Columbia to visit and go to games!
I love the way you described Columbia as a “big small town”. I, too, live in Columbia in that “small” section known to everyone as Forest Acres, and love it. My family and I have actually been visiting Shandon Baptist for about three months now and have fallen in love with the “big small church” on Forest Drive. (smile) I enjoy reading your blog. Thanks for sharing snippets of your life and faith. Your words are very encouraging.
I love where we live, but if you had asked me ten years ago if I thought I’d still be living here today, I would’ve laughed. I haven’t ever wanted to leave the South, but imagined I’d be somewhere larger. Today, like you, I can see how God kept me here for a reason and that’s for my husband and the boys. I love it. I love that we’re close to both of our families, that we’re plugged into our church and that we’re both able to have careers that we love while spending so much time together.
p.s. My baby sister is moving to Columbia this fall! She’s going to USC and so excited about it. She went for Orientation yesterday. I see many trips to Columbia in our future over the next four years.
I’m a teensy bit jealous that you get to share a Bible study with Ellen. I love the blogger connection though. That’s so special to get to be friends in real life. 🙂
I was born and raised in Columbia and loved growing up there. It’s changed a lot since I lived there, but I think for the better in most respects. I initially came to the Upstate to attend college at Clemson in 1981, and now live in between Greenville and Clemson. Greenville is a wonderful community and we feel fortunate to live 15 minutes away from their wonderful downtown. I don’t get to visit Columbia as often as I’d like, but I still have family and friends there and my dad is buried at Greenlawn. Both Columbia and the Upstate are great places to raise families. I feel fortunate to be connected to both areas,
“But I truly believe that God has put us where we are for a reason. No matter where he puts us, there is a purpose. There are people to be loved, churches to invest in, and fun new things to explore.”
This is so true. He’s got a purpose for us and it’s funny how often we end up in places we never thought we’d be and love being there!
Oh you make my heart ache for the south! I lived in Charlotte for four of the best years of my life (newlywed and first baby days). I loved it with all my heart! God has us in Philadelphia now and it’s been wonderful too. But oh, I do feel like a southerner who’s been misplaced. 🙂 You don’t know Kitty & Joel Hurdle do you? They are dear friends who live in Columbia and it sounds like connections run deep and wide!
I am so excited to find a blogger out of Columbia, SC! I have lived in Columbia for 16 years now and came from Miami, FL of all places. I love Columbia for so many of the reasons you do. You can’t beat the Southern hospitality, sweet tea and “y’all”. Such a wonderful place to call home 🙂