I remember the day I packed my Pontiac Grand Am with a few possessions and drove away, shedding a few tears, saying goodbye to my parents for a while, goodbye to my home and all that I knew to be comfortable. I unpacked my belongings into my tiny dorm room in Cookeville, TN. I remember that first day of college and shedding a few more tears, thinking to myself, “I’m not ready for this.”
Today I drove away from that home not to return for a long time. Fourteen years. Little did I know that I would spend 14 years in that new city. Little did I know that it would become my home. What lessons were learned there, what experiences that fueled growth, what deep relationships were formed there. I may have shed a tear or two as I drove away today. God was good to me in that city. There were too many blessings to count.
As I look forward to my new adventure, I have many moments where I think, “I’m not ready for this.” I expect a few more tears will be shed as I say goodbye to my family again, to this land and home. But perhaps 5 years down the road, 14 years, 20 years, I will leave the new land transformed into home and I’ll shed a few tears remembering all the wonderful gifts from that place, remembering the lessons learned, experiences that fueled growth, and deep relationships formed.
Take a visual tour of some of my favorite Cookeville places:
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| My longest Cookeville home |
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Dogwood Park
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My favorite Antique Store
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Ralph's Donuts!
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The Depot
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The Cream City sign
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Taiko -the best sushi in the world
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Sherlock Park
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Burgess Falls and particularly the middle falls and
the bench beside those falls. |
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