The last two days have truly been some of the most remarkable in my memory. I was reminded of beauty, hope, goodness, and connection in ways that I could never have imagined.
I visited that lovely college in Vermont. The area itself is unbelievably lovely, with verdant hills, rivers that all but spoke of the the life they contained, and a culture that was incredibly welcoming and accepting. The people at the college exceeded my wildest hopes in their kindness and warmth. I was welcomed with almost-literal open arms and left with an informal offer a job that exceeded my dreams. The only reason it was an informal offer was that the president of the college had left for the day and they needed to check my references. What stunned me was the deep connection I felt with the woman who would be my boss. It was as though we had met somewhere in time, almost like a big sister. Perhaps our souls have met before. They have already roughed out my schedule for the fall semester. However, everyone is traveling over the next few days, and my soon-to-be new boss hated to have me wait, but the wait was unavoidable. I’m still in a pinch-me state. Her advice to me was to start finding a place to live and to make moving arrangements. For her part, she will be pushing to finalize the hire asap.
I spent the next morning touring the area as much as I could, looking at neighborhoods and surrounding towns. I found the church we would attend and learned about the schools. The area exceeds what I could have hoped for. Not it’s not perfect– nothing ever is– but this place far surpasses anything I could have dreamed for myself. As I walked around, I felt like I had come home, but to no home I’d ever known. The town is small in population but rich in culture and history. The opportunities for my family are far more numerous than what I could have imagined.
On the way home, I had the exceptional fortune to be seated where I could witness the sunset from the airplane window. The sky was nearly cloudless, and I have never seen anything that describes the beauty of what I saw. Did you know that there is a hint of green in the sunset? The color bands start with the reds and oranges near the earth, then turn to yellows that fade into the blue and indigo of the sky. Where the blue and yellow meet is the tiniest hint of a band of green. As the sun sank, the tiny clouds turned black against the vivid reds and oranges. I had classical music playing on my earphones, and it was the most sublimely lovely sunset I have ever seen. I doubt that what I saw could have been seen from the ground, and I would never have witnessed it if I weren’t sitting still with a calm mind and open soul. I though about diving for my camera, but that little inner voice that I can only call God told me to sit still and simply witness.
These days have left me in a new place spiritually, although I can’t quite define it yet. I only know that it is new. My husband and I are making preliminary preparations for the move and will take action once we have final confirmation of the job offer. The life that I have been living still must continue and work must be done, but it seems like a comfortable but outworn slipper.I still need it to cover my needs, but have a glorious new slipper that fits perfectly that will be mine in a very short time.
Here’s a picture or two that barely capture what I saw (one seems to want to insert twice or not at all…), but it’s all I have to share for now.
renplus 
Wonderful post.