Oh Hiraeth

Tonight I’m super excited to kick off a new series showcasing the amazing people in my life and the beautiful things that they’re a part of and passionate about. This blog is a space to celebrate the beauty in every day moments- and one of the best ways to do that is to acknowledge the lovely people we get to do life with. It is my delight to begin this series with two of my favorite people (and pup) on the planet sharing about their love for the city they live in- Providence and the community they’re a part of.

Without further ado…

Three and a half years ago I (Maddie) started going to a church called Sanctuary. I was immediately welcomed into a community I would soon call family. I loved how invested the church was to a city that was right around the corner from me and I desperately wanted to serve Providence in the ways Sanctuary was. I knew I needed to be a part of this space and this city.

It was here at Sanctuary where my husband Jon and I met and we both instantly realized how easy it was to be with each other. It wasn’t this overwhelming infatuation of “we’re just so obsessed with each other”, it was really just so comfortable, and it worked.

A year and a half into dating we were engaged and five months later we were married. Marriage has been AWESOME, and hard at points, but in really cool ways where we get to experience growth and change. We’ve had to show humility and die to ourselves more times than we can count, but its been amazing. We know God is working through our marriage and we are pushing each other towards bigger and better things. We have been unbelievably grateful for where our marriage has taken us in the last 10 months.

When we met we were both working on the west side of Providence. We enjoyed many delicious meals there; Julians, the Grange, and Kitchen, and a few great coffee dates there too; Seven Starts, Pastiche, and White Electric. After living in Cranston for about 6 months, we knew we wanted to move to the city, and that we needed to be on the west side.

Not only have we fallen in love with the food here, but the culture in this city is energizing. I truly believe that the people here are slightly more kind, especially in comparison to normal New Englanders, and the art scene is inspiring. People here are overflowing with creativity just waiting to get their ideas and passions out into the open, and many of them already are. We have met and connected with SO many amazing people and we feel very strongly that we are exactly where God wants us to be.

We have even added a third member to our small family, named Linus. Not a human family member, just a pup. But he is the greatest and he LOVES being a city pup.

Photos by the beautiful, lovely + wonderful Jessica Shoe.

For the last three and a half years we have felt God calling us to be in this place and invest in this city and love this city and we couldn’t feel more confident we made the right decision.