Snow falls gently from the wintry grey sky, drifting on my eyelashes and stinging my face a little. I smile in spite of myself. With finals for my first semester just around the corner, a challenging month to recover from, and packing to do, I work at getting my brain to shut up and enjoy the peacefulness for a couple seconds.
In August, I wrote an entry called “8 Rules for Easy Moving.” I was nervous about a new start, and said:
“God’s reminded me that not all of the new things are bad and firsts only last for awhile. There are the things to look forward to, like taking a dance class for the first time in 12 years or the job that I was hoping for and got. Refining and expanding my Spanish. Being in college and knowing why I’m there this time. Unforseen ministry opportunities. And above all else, that I am not, and will not be, alone.”
My class had our end of the year dance performance yesterday and it was a blast! And I just took a Spanish final over sequence of verb tenses and the pluscuamperfect, imperfect subjunctive, and adverbial clauses (yeah, only Miss Judy understands- don’t worry about it). It turns out that UNK has over 500 foreign exchange students, so God just brought the world to me. And He’s blessed me with good friends and a great church.
I thought when I wrote the first edition of “8 Rules for Easy Moving” that I was moving for several years. Studying abroad in Peru next semester was not on the forefront of my mind, but with a plane ticket dated January 6th sitting in my inbox, it certainly is now. And while my brain says, “This is an amazing opportunity!,” my heart says, “But I just got here!” The truth is, I don’t feel adventurous or daring or ready to take on another culture in a couple weeks.
Therefore, God has been continuing a lesson on the amazing power of gratitude. Instead of His usual applications of a bad attitude or depression, He’s working on fear. A fear of both stepping into a new unknown and of leaving what has only recently become known. Of living with a family I don’t know. Of taking Peruvian Literature in Spanish! He has been challenging me to be grateful for what lies ahead, even if I don’t know what exactly it looks like. Because no matter what else is in my future, God is.
My mom, who is generally pretty smart, recently told me about a song by Casting Crowns:
“When I'm lost in the mystery
To You my future is a memory
Cause You're already there.”
And because He is, the unknown doesn’t seem so intimidating.
So as I take a couple minutes to enjoy the snow, cram for finals, and find my hiking backpack (which actually hasn’t had time to get lost yet), I will look to a challenge and call it an adventure.
Because God lives in Lima, too.
In August, I wrote an entry called “8 Rules for Easy Moving.” I was nervous about a new start, and said:
“God’s reminded me that not all of the new things are bad and firsts only last for awhile. There are the things to look forward to, like taking a dance class for the first time in 12 years or the job that I was hoping for and got. Refining and expanding my Spanish. Being in college and knowing why I’m there this time. Unforseen ministry opportunities. And above all else, that I am not, and will not be, alone.”
My class had our end of the year dance performance yesterday and it was a blast! And I just took a Spanish final over sequence of verb tenses and the pluscuamperfect, imperfect subjunctive, and adverbial clauses (yeah, only Miss Judy understands- don’t worry about it). It turns out that UNK has over 500 foreign exchange students, so God just brought the world to me. And He’s blessed me with good friends and a great church.
I thought when I wrote the first edition of “8 Rules for Easy Moving” that I was moving for several years. Studying abroad in Peru next semester was not on the forefront of my mind, but with a plane ticket dated January 6th sitting in my inbox, it certainly is now. And while my brain says, “This is an amazing opportunity!,” my heart says, “But I just got here!” The truth is, I don’t feel adventurous or daring or ready to take on another culture in a couple weeks.
Therefore, God has been continuing a lesson on the amazing power of gratitude. Instead of His usual applications of a bad attitude or depression, He’s working on fear. A fear of both stepping into a new unknown and of leaving what has only recently become known. Of living with a family I don’t know. Of taking Peruvian Literature in Spanish! He has been challenging me to be grateful for what lies ahead, even if I don’t know what exactly it looks like. Because no matter what else is in my future, God is.
My mom, who is generally pretty smart, recently told me about a song by Casting Crowns:
“When I'm lost in the mystery
To You my future is a memory
Cause You're already there.”
And because He is, the unknown doesn’t seem so intimidating.
So as I take a couple minutes to enjoy the snow, cram for finals, and find my hiking backpack (which actually hasn’t had time to get lost yet), I will look to a challenge and call it an adventure.
Because God lives in Lima, too.
