“You’re my place of rest and my escape,
Father You will be my hiding place.”
I asked the Lord for rest, and He gave me even more than what that four-lettered word could ever provide.
As you may already know, I have officially finished my second year of teaching, and, man, has it been quite a ride.
Even though my students would be categorized into many different ability groups and most would be dealing with learning disabilities and other special needs, the Coronavirus has been present and completely flipped the script of what I would consider a radically “normal” end of the school year.
So with that in mind, as a rookie with little expertise in online teaching, I, along with many other colleagues and teacher friends, have been thrown into this world of distance learning where teaching would take place virtually, and we’d all just have to hope and pray we can get through.
To just sum it all up into less words, I’d say I have never felt more drained and exhausted in my life. Which is why I desperately needed a getaway.
I remember the day, May 12, to be exact, when I posted a pic on Instagram pouring out what my heart and soul has been feeling at the moment—complete tiredness, sense of no control over my emotions, and just general weakness of being so restless.
I have only asked God to please allow me a time where I can just fall into a deep slumber to make up for what I have felt I’ve lost within myself.
And He answered.
Deep into prayer, the Lord heard my cry and allowed me to embark on a solo adventure where I’d expectantly wanted to hear from God himself tell me whatever it was He wanted me to hear.
That’s when I decided to book a trip back to Charlotte (even though I was supposedly going back in March but couldn’t) and said, “Lord, just do what you gotta do.”
And He did.
For three days only, I was back in the very city I had visited in November and awaited to see what would unravel before my eyes with the knowledge that I’d be alone and roaming freely.
To me, that was my original plan—to just venture off and see for myself what I could get myself into (taking precautions, of course).
Now I know what you’re saying, “Emily, how can you travel in the middle of a pandemic? Are you insane?”
And yes, I did think about that and EXTENSIVELY. But when God is in the midst of something, He not only allows certain things to happen, but He also includes His divine protection and assurance that He is there.
Trust me, I’ve cried considering the possibility of infection and how it could potentially affect my family. My biggest fear was that I’d contract the virus and pass it to my father of whom is dealing with a very weak immune system due to his diabetes.
My mind always swirled at the idea that I’d be the one at fault for bringing home the very thing that is currently causing so much fear in the whole world right now. And in my mind, I’d hate myself for even doing such a thing that would create such deep harm to my family.
But God said otherwise.
And with that fear in the back of my mind, the Lord gracefully led me to read various scriptures pertaining to divine protection and the covering of His precious blood.
Since then, my mom has prayed over me that I’d come back just the way I left—
100% healthy, 100% intact, 100% steadfast in faith.
Now for many unbelievers, this may sound like crazy talk, but to me this alone has developed in me a deeper sense of faith that my Father in Heaven truly covers His children under His wings, and I am forever grateful for that.
To tell you the truth, my fear of having the virus would come and go when I was at the airport, on the plane, and even walking around Charlotte, but I always had to remind myself that I was sent on this solo trip to receive what I’ve been looking for and that was rest.
On my first day in Charlotte, I cannot explain how much detail my adventure had been because there was just so much going on.
From hiking a rough trail at Chimney Rock, to even falling while walking down the rocky steps (don’t worry, it was so funny to me that I laughed the whole time), to watching ducks come near me due to some pastellitos I had close by, to even eating lunch by the side of a riverbank, the beginning of the trip was absolutely spontaneous from start to end.
I cannot express how grateful I am for what has happened just in the span of three days.
When the second day arrived, I absolutely had nothing planned except for a nice dinner I wanted to have at night, only because I wanted a good reason to dress up. Since that morning, I was constantly being reminded of how great God has been to me that He Himself would set a reminder in my heart to take things as they are and to not be afraid to step into unplanned events. And from what I can say, especially as a planner myself, that alone was out of my comfort zone.
On this day, many things happened. I visited the local library, sat at a Starbucks with a nice cup of coffee and bagel in hand, and walked along the wet streets of Uptown. I knew this day would be one I’d truly cherish.
I think there are many hidden treasures worth finding in almost every city, but one thing that truly caught my attention was a little book stand in the shape of a house. It was in the middle of a quiet neighborhood, and people could take and drop off books whenever they felt it fit. Surprisingly, I found one of my favorite childhood books, “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?” and held it in my hand to take with me on my way back to Florida as a keepsake for my future children.
That book meant a lot to me as a child, and so I thought it was really nice to know I now have it in my possession for when the time comes to read it to my little ones.
After taking a few additional books for my classroom from the book stand, we went to the Billy Graham library once again.
If you read my blog post back in November, you’d remember more into detail why this place is a special one. But as soon as I was there, again I felt the peace of God in my heart and reassurance that He is still with me. During the presentation walkthrough, in one particular room, I can remember feeling the warmth of the Lord. I automatically began crying silently as I knew deep in my heart what it meant.
Due to wearing a mask, I was glad no one really noticed I was crying so much because I didn’t want to draw attention from anyone. I felt it was a really intimate moment between the creator and I that made it even more important for me to not show what was really happening.
And after the walking and viewing of the showrooms, I was happy I was once again there to see it all over again.
After visiting the Billy Graham Library, I was taken to an airport overlook and saw the planes depart into the sky right above me. It was such a cool sight, and it was really nice to even be presented such a thing.
With the poncho hood I was wearing over my head, I didn’t care if I’d be rained on to see the planes fly above. I was just happy this was even a thing happening before my eyes because it reminded me of my childhood days. I used to visit a spot with my family near the airport to watch the planes fly above while having lunch in the car.
I think that event itself set off such happiness in my heart, that I thanked my best friend for even taking me there. And off we went to visit other places to just look around and even bless someone else along the way during our quick lunch break.
If I can just say much more about this day, let’s just say I am not truly the fastest runner around. Even when I thought I was, someone was able to beat me in a short race... (kudos to you.)
But despite the fact that I lost a race, this whole afternoon was filled with laughter I will always remember.
When it came to get ready for dinner, even though I had packed various dresses to wear around the city, one specific dress felt absolutely right to wear. It was a very simple midi dress with little tiny flowers printed on it that made me feel like a flower myself :)
Dinner itself was absolutely better than I could have ever imagined. From the pick of the restaurant, to the service, and the quality of the food, everything about that night felt so precisely appointed. It was also the night I never expected to feel more open about other things that I have been containing for a while. And even if it may have felt a bit surprising to do, I enjoyed the evening and wished there was more time to walk around my favorite park in the whole city after dinner and immerse myself deeper into the night.
Romare Bearden Park at night.
The most memorable night of the trip.
I think that was the very moment when I truly felt at rest. My soul was nourishing itself once again. I was completely at peace and content.
I really didn’t sleep until after 1am due to a mishap that happened with the washing machine at the apartment I was staying in, but even though it was already late at night, I knew I didn’t feel the need to sleep. I already got what I was asking for during the trip, and eventually waited until my eyes would suddenly close to see the sunrise of the next morning peer through the window once again.
On my last day of the trip, I was sad to go, but not a lot of emotion went into it as I knew I’d be back sooner than later. For many of you guys who know, North Carolina will always be a special place that I consider home even though it’s not entirely just yet.
I was taken to Camp North End, which seemed like a desolate artsy site and explored to see what really was there. With the help of being lifted up to see the sculptures around, I was able to view various art pieces around that intrigued me by how detailed they were.
Knowing that time was passing, we kept walking around and took various pictures that truly depicted and captured how blissful I’ve been feeling throughout the whole trip’s duration. I can only thank my photographer in training for capturing those images.
After exploring and roaming around, I was taken to another artsy scene where many more people were at. To my surprise, hispanic food was finally present, and I happily enjoyed some carne asada tacos. After dancing a bit to the song playing in the restaurant and being applauded by some stranger on how cute the dance was, to my surprise, I was brought to an ice cream shop that has always caught my attention.
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream is by far one of the best ice cream parlors I have ever been to, but it still doesn’t beat Haägen Dazs. After indulging to the sweet treat and walking a bit more, the time was growing close to my departure, but there was still enough time to wander around so I was taken to watch the Charlotte skyline on top of a restricted parking lot.
To be honest, I was expecting a warning of trespassing or even an arrest, but I knew I was in good hands and the fact that I wasn’t entirely alone made me hope to blame the other person for taking me there if I had to do so.
(I’m only kidding.)
