Well, hello there!
It’s been really quiet around here lately. Sorry. I think I’ve kept putting off posting something because I’m
afraid of publishing one post and then not posting anything for months (I
really don’t like doing that), because I don’t have a plan. I am a planner and
for most of my life, I have always had a plan. A plan for this blog, a plan for
my life. But the past two years have left me floundering with no plan (or so it
has felt). Every now and then, I think I create a plan but then it doesn’t work
out or I decide it’s not really what I want; but most of the time over the past
year or two, I have had no clue what I want. And that, for me, is so
unsettling. I don’t want to sound like a broken record taking about life
being in a challenging season; but it has been. Can
anyone else relate? Life circumstances that have been hard and confusing,
throughout the past two years, have really challenged what I have always
believed about God; but what I have found, as I have strived to “work out my
salvation with fear and trembling”, is that God is far more faithful that I
ever knew. He cares far more about our salvation than our life circumstances.
And there is a security in that. The fact that I am guided and carried by a God
who isn’t afraid to stretch me, prod me, or bring me to my knees a bit to make
sure I always stay with him.
I’m thankful for those lessons,
but just to be honest, I’ve been ready for a different season for some time
now. And as of late, plans are slowly coming back to me. And by plans I also
mean hope, joy, inspiration, vision. Some of this is coming in the form of
real, tangible ideas that could happen, but most of it is coming from change in
the intangible. Change on the inside of both myself and others. That change
gives me courage to try things and make plans, but it also gives me the courage
and peace to be content and secure. I hope to share more of what I’ve learned
and specifics that have helped me, over the coming months.
For now, however, we are off
for a little holiday! We are driving to Atlanta (with a pit stop at some
natural springs to go swimming – what else screams summer?!) to spend a few
days with some friends who recently moved there. Then we’ll be driving to St.
Louis, Missouri for a church conference (with a pit stop at a Man vs. Food
establishment. :) After that, we’ll drive all the way back home in two days.
It’s a lot of driving, but a lot of friends, a lot of fun, a lot of learning, a
lot of summer-y foods, and we are so excited!
Also, since I last posted in
November: I went to Namibia for two weeks, via Istanbul; I got rejected from a
master’s program, given a second change with an interview, and then rejected
again; and I spent two weeks in China, visiting Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai. I
definitely have lots to share here.
What are your summer plans? Or
winter plans (for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere)? Any travels? Or
home projects (those are always wonderful too!)?
Happy (early) Fourth of July to
all my American readers! Hope your day is filled with sun, burgers, gratitude,
and fireworks!
