Nearing the end?

It has been a rough week.

I'm nearing the one year mark in California. I honestly cannot believe time has moved so quickly. When I moved to California, the intention was to only stay for a year. I drilled this into my head so that if I hated it or if I "failed" at going out of my comfort zone, I could come back at the end of the year and no one would think twice about it. There has been a shift, though. More than words can express, I've loved it. And it makes me really sad to think about leaving.

I'm happy. I'm relaxed. I'm content. I'm free. I'm breaking out of my comfort zone. I'm embracing new experiences. I'm learning so much.

But I'm missing being near my family and my friends from Minneapolis. If I could transport them all to California, I'd be whole.

I'm at a crossroads. Do I close this chapter of my life and move on, or do I keep going? I have no idea what to do. My mind is telling me I have four options: LA, Orange County, Chicago, and Minneapolis. Do I go to a place I've dreamed of and live in a world I've fantasized about? Do I stay in a place I've called home for the past 10 months and continue to hang out with the friends I've made and enjoy the things that make me happy on a daily basis? Do I go to a city I love and live a new experience and go out of my comfort zone in yet another way? Or do I go back to the place I've called home for 24 years with the people who mean the world to me? So what is most important?

I'm at a loss and it's an inner battle I'm fighting. I'm trying to figure it out so I can (shocker) plan for what comes next and accept what decision I make. I pray about it daily and each day, I feel God telling me something different. So what is He really telling me?

A wise co-worker with more life experience gave me the advice "When you let your heart answer, it may not always work out for the best, but there wont be any regret." So what is my heart telling me?

We'll see...

Love this art I saw at my fave store in CA - Tuvalu.