Author: Natalie

You know how sometimes God softly beckons your heart, and whispers to you a dream? God has given me a whisper-dream from the time I was a little tiny girl. A whisper-dream that I hope, with His grace, I can nurture into a reality that is bigger than anything I could imagine on my own, for His glory. I’m moving back “home” to Minnesota to be with family, where I will be working towards my lifelong dream of starting a bakery. 

I know it won’t be easy. To be honest, God usually calls us to difficult things, don’t you think? But the best part is, He gives us the grace to get where He wants us going. I sit here humbly, honestly, anticipating many nights of tears and frustration. Nights where my dream takes a totally different direction and I have to struggle with my vision versus God’s. Days of schlepping back and forth, days of burnout, days of aching wrists and back, sweat from painting, hammering, and creating. 

We pay a price to follow our dreams. But what if we look at it as payment in kind, perhaps, for an opportunity to be all-out for our dreams, to be stretching ourselves into fully blossoming…putting our pennies in the piggy bank so that, down the road, we can crack it open and find that we’ve invested in something much bigger than ourselves, and much more beautiful. I know this won’t come easily. I know that we’re talking years of sacrifice. I’m signing up for something that I’m sure I’ll question time and time again. But my heart and spirit tell me: now is the time. God has ordained me to spread my wings and fly, to His glory. The past few years have been a wonderful training ground of sorts. I feel incredibly blessed to have developed a strong support system, to have gained maturity and experience, and to have sat at the feet of people so well-versed in following their dreams. It will be difficult to leave this life I have here of people, places, and memories that I dearly love. I do not let go of these things lightly; no, indeed, I will always carry them with me. But there are so many people saying, “Go, Nats! Now is the time!” with affection and tears in their eyes. That makes me feel so utterly loved and empowered. 

So now, I will pack my Subaru with baking pans, vintage clothes, and so much love, and head back to my Swedish roots. 

“Sometimes right back where you started from is right where you belong.” ~Leigh Standley 

Indeed, and I cannot wait to begin “belonging” again in Minnesota.

I am so excited to set down roots and wait for them to “flour”–oh I couldn’t help but throw in one baking pun, you know me.

🙂 

And so it begins…