Parting Thoughts

My time here in Russellville, Arkansas, is nearing an end.  I spent today packing, and will spend tomorrow running an errand to Little Rock, packing, and having a goodbye dinner with my GAC friends.  After 4 months in Arkansas, I will miss the state.  It truly is a beautiful state.

Looking back, I honestly have no idea why God brought me out here.  I mean, I needed an internship to graduate with my Master's Degree, and He provided that.  I worked with great people, met some other great people, and got a lot of championship operations experience.  It was definitely outside of my norm, but I appreciate the experience.  I had other offers closer to home, but I really felt God leading me out to Arkansas, so I faithfully went.

Spiritually, I feel that I regressed, as is evident by my lack of blog updates :(  It has been rough out here on my own spiritually.  Before WFBC, I was content being a spiritual loner because it was all I knew.  After the fellowship of WFBC and Fight Club, moving out here nearly killed me.  I tried my hand at a local church, but that didn't work out.  I'd like to believe I helped those 6th and 8th grade boys out a bit, but I was only there for a few weeks.  I had little to no interaction with anyone else.  I only attended that church one Sunday.  Spiritually, I have nothing to show for my time here, and that hurts :(  However, I did get to spend 2 weekends with my uncle in Harrison, and I really like his church.  If it hadn't been 2.5 hrs away through the mountains, I would have gone more often.

I am sad to say that my physical health suffered as well.  I am normally sedentary, but aside from my co-workers I didn't meet anyone in Russellville that I spent time with.  I was either in the office, or in my apartment.  There are a lot of food options in Russellville, and though I tried cooking for myself I found it easier to just drive through somewhere.  I have gained like 30 lbs in 4 months :(  Last week, I began to act on my convictions, and I am trying to at least cut out soft drinks for the time being.  There are a lot of hiking trails nearby.  They have scenic Mt. Nebo, and lovely Lake Dardanelle, not to mention the Arkansas River.  However, while I was out there I hated being by myself.  It was still beautiful though.

I feel that my whole Arkansas experience was hindered by the short amount of time I was out here, at least in my mind.  Though, I am sorry to leave it.  My mother is from Arkansas, so I consider myself half Arkansan.  If I could sum up my time here in one word it would be some variation of "lonely".

But...I have my Master's Degree in Sport Management from the University of Georgia.  Yay!  Now what?  I return to Georgia with no job offers despite many applications sent out.  Again, I feel that I have nothing to show for my time out here.  I return to Georgia feeling defeated.

*Let me be clear to point out that every person that I worked with either in the conference office or its member institutions was amazing.  The people I met in the various tournament cities were amazing as well.  I hope they remember me fondly as I will remember them.  My own personal sad feelings are not because of them.  They were the highlights of my time in Arkansas, and I will miss them greatly.*

Also, my faith has strengthened this past week, and I have always known that God's plan is the best plan for me.  He has not let me down yet, and so I pack to go home optimistically seeking His will.  If I do not end up with a job in sports, then that is fine as long as I am not stuck in my parents' basement for an extended period of time.  That would kill me.

Through His Word, God reminds me that He has a plan and a purpose for me, and that still gets me excited.  Habakkuk 1:5, Jeremiah 29:11, Ephesians 2:10, etc.  This is just a valley, and God will reveal the purpose of my time in Arkansas to me when I am ready to learn it.  I will miss Arkansas, and will return in June to officially move out of my apartment.  I am looking forward to seeing my Athenian brethren soon :)

Thank you, Arkansas, for your beauty.  Thank you, Spring Lake Apartments, for an apartment that leaves me completely spoiled!  Thank you Great American Conference for this opportunity!  I will be the first to admit that I have issues, and I will work on them, but thank you all for putting up with me.  I hope our paths cross again.

For the Kingdom,
Stuart L. Kingsley