Life in this Small Town

We have spent many years of married life living in big cities. And we loved it. The bigger the city the more opportunities to work and play. The energy of a metro-plex is something to behold. I personally thrive in areas populated by several million plus! Driving through the Mix-Master in Dallas was no big deal! My ideal spot would be Manhattan, right smack dab in the middle of New York City. One long ago friend commented that the reason I was so happy to leave Savannah, GA a few years back was because it just wasn't "big enough for me". As beautiful as it was, she was probably right.
Now we've lived in Broken Arrow, OK almost 3 years....population 100k maybe! It has all the amenities I need and a quaint little downtown that I adore. We used to comment to each other..."when you walk down the street and you recognize someone, or someone recognizes you, it's time to move". It seems that's how it always worked. Just when we started feeling comfortable somewhere we uprooted and replanted somewhere else. But today, after getting my hair cut by the same friend that's been doing it for 3 years, I walked through a few businesses, running some errands in downtown BA. I ran into a friend from the neighborhood book club, a co-worker from the library, & a couple of women from the local Christian Women's Club. There were waves and smiles all over the place...people that I knew and knew me! As I drove by a church I watched people file in for a memorial service for a friends father, and contemplated the bittersweet atmosphere inside that place. There would be several faces present that I know. And Easter Sunday we will go to the home of some friends from church and have a lovely brunch with lots of stories and laughter. Bottom line, we're connecting to this place and her people.
As comfortable as we have become here I know that change is always a possibility. If not location, then certainly age, health, relationships, family crisis, etc. Comfort is always a temporary state of affairs. I want to live into change, when is comes, with grace and faith. I'm reading Paul Harvey's biography now and he once stated that his favorite day was "tomorrow". I always thought my favorite day was "today". I want to live life in the now..but like Paul, not be anxious about tomorrow.
And I want to thrive in the intimate energy of a small town, content to know that this is exactly where I'm supposed to be in this era of my life.