The Art of Coming Home

While I had the opportunity to meet many of you on Sunday morning, allow me to elaborate.  My name is Kelsey Wenrich, and I have had the privilege of calling Hillspring Church my family since I was 12 years old. 13 years!  A few years ago, I moved to the east coast, Northern Virginia, where my dad, mom, and sister moved in 2017.

In Virginia, I had a great job as a bookstore inventory manager. I loved living with my family—especially for holidays.  Northern Virginia is a very transient place to live because of the government and military presence. Many of the friends that I made moved out of the area for one reason or another.  I took those losses to heart and grew increasingly depressed. Additionally, I know I’m not alone in saying the entire year of 2020 took a toll on my mental health.

I was fortunate to have a job during the pandemic, but I struggled to keep a happy face.  More and more, it became apparent to me that my heart was headed back to the Tri-Cities.  My personal anthem was the theme song from the 80s TV show Cheers.  I really wanted "to go where everybody knows your name, they are always glad you came, and we see that our troubles are all the same."

When I was getting baptized in the Hillspring Church waterfall 12 years ago, I never imagined that a “church family” could be such a huge part of my all-around wellness when I grew up.  But I also didn’t think I would ever like spicy food when I grew up, so go figure.  

I decided to wait until after the new year 2021 to look for a job in the Tr-Cities. Unfortunately, several employment opportunities fell through, which left me unsure about whether I was making the right decision. Finally, I decided to throw caution to the wind and hope that God had not ignored the desire of my heart. Just like “church” isn’t a building, neither is “home” a house. I wanted to come back to my heart’s home.  I'm not going to lie, the east coast humidity and traffic were also inspirational.

Here’s the part where God just starts showing up.  Not only did He restore me to my “home” in the Tri-Cities, but God provided the job opportunity for me to serve as the Hillspring Community and Connections Coordinator.  Even my job description spells out the desire of my heart.  On Sunday, Grimelda talked about the Apostle Paul and how his third mission trip was to encourage and strengthen the believers. I am so excited to be back in a place where we can encourage and strengthen one another as part of Hillspring's DNA statement to Live, Love, and Grow together. In light of all this,  I want to share a favorite verse:

Hebrews 10:24 says, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” 

With all the recent icing on the cake moments that I’ve had, I have not forgotten the months and weeks of feeling hopeless before moving back to Tri-Cities. In the coming days, we will all likely have the opportunity to connect with people that we haven’t seen since the quarantine began. We will be seeing people who have experienced dark isolation, loss, or depression during the quarantine. I’m praying that we will intentionally consider when and how we can spur one another towards love and good deeds. 

My heart is full, and my happy face is real.  God is so good.

Blessings,

Kelsey Wenrich

Community & Connections