By: Lt. Chelsea Fleeman

It's a funny thing, being on your own for the first time. There are things I'd never had to do before because there were always other people to help, but for the first time in my life it's just me. Is it lame to admit that one of my biggest insecurities when I got to my new appointment was that I had never set up my own internet before?

Working in an office 8 hours a day? No big deal! I had loads of experience with that. Doing pastoral visits? Bring ‘em on! Preaching? Only one of my favorite things to do! But setting up internet? That seemed like an impossible task. Yet sure enough, the first day after my transition week I found myself driving to Comcast to purchase an internet package.

God truly has a sense of humor, doesn't He?

Being on my own, especially at the age of 23, is both exhilarating and terrifying. Apart from the daunting task of dealing with Comcast (we've all been there, right?), I also have the privilege of not having to share refrigerator space, or arguing with roommates over what to watch on Thursday night. Then again, any time I see a roach I don't have a roommate to call to kill it for me.

These are all really silly examples of what it's like living on my own for the first time, but the truth is that being commissioned as a single officer is very scary. It's not just the little things that I have to stress over. You know what's scarier than getting internet? Wondering who I'm going to spend Thanksgiving with. You know what's scarier than a roach? Nothing; that was a trick question.

Yet I have been abundantly blessed to be sent to a place where I have been embraced and loved so fully that I feel like I have family here. I may have to kill my own roaches, but I know that I have people to call when I don't want to eat dinner alone. There are so many wonderful people in this appointment who are here to help me, and I cannot thank God enough that this is where He sent me.

As a cadet I spent two years living in community. And though I have lost community in that sense, my corps has very quickly become my community. As I write this post and send it using internet I set up myself, I cannot help but be grateful for the opportunity I have to grow here. It isn't just about being alone and having to do things for myself, it's also about knowing there's a wealth of knowledge and experience here to guide me. Though I am living on my own for really the first time in my life, my corps family has shown me that I am not alone.