I slept well last night (thank you, baby girl, for only waking up once).
On this day three years ago I would have told you that I barely slept last night.
I barely slept because I spent the night curled up in a tiny ball between two not-so-tiny men. On a plane. I barely slept but I kept my eyes closed for most of the 12 hour flight as I tried to keep my shoulders from shaking - the tell-tale sign of tears.
On that day, I didn't know that although a great adventure was ending, an even better one was about to begin.
Three years ago today, I came home from a life changing 5 months in Chile. Just like I will always recognize the day I was born into this world, the day I promised the rest of my life to my husband, and the day I became a mother, I will also always remember this day - even though it doesn't have a clever name like "birthday" or "anniversary".
I don't cry very often, but I cried that night on the plane because I knew I was leaving a life - and a piece of myself that couldn't exist anywhere else - that I loved. In Chile I became a different person. I learned things about God, about myself, and about the world that I never could have learned in my home culture. I knew there were more things to learn and I was heart broken not to be able to stay and find out what kind of a person I could become with those experiences. I was afraid to go home and revert back to who I had been.
In Chile I could go slowly, I could value people, I could let go of time and materialism. In Chile, Jesus was my best friend and God was my guide. In Chile I was far away from the pain I had left behind in the United States; I was safe. Life was simple.
I knew it couldn't go on forever, but I wasn't ready for it to end yet.
Although one of the major life lessons I learned in Chile was to trust Him because He already knows everything, I wasn't sure I should blame being sent home on God. It seemed like politics was more at fault. But it didn't take long before I could see God orchestrating everything out.
I needed to be home that summer if I was going to catch a certain someone before he left the country to pursue opportunities overseas. I needed to catch this guy so that we could get married and do life together. We needed to get married so we could give life to this beautiful baby girl.
In a few more years, I'm sure I'll have more to add to the chain of reasons why I needed to come home that day. The fun thing about looking back on your life is that hindsight is 20-20. Thankfully, God's sight is 20-20 all the time. So trust in His direction. It may not make sense or seem fun, but when you look back I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed.
That night on the plane, the one thing that made me smile between the tears was picturing the surprise on my friends and family's faces. They weren't expecting me until December. The only four people who were in the know were my Aunt and Uncle (transportation from airport to college) and my friends Emily and Andi (transportation from college to house and cameraman).
Thanks to Andi, you can watch the surprise for yourself. (try to ignore the bad Spanish grammar and spelling!)
On this day three years ago I would have told you that I barely slept last night.
I barely slept because I spent the night curled up in a tiny ball between two not-so-tiny men. On a plane. I barely slept but I kept my eyes closed for most of the 12 hour flight as I tried to keep my shoulders from shaking - the tell-tale sign of tears.
On that day, I didn't know that although a great adventure was ending, an even better one was about to begin.
Three years ago today, I came home from a life changing 5 months in Chile. Just like I will always recognize the day I was born into this world, the day I promised the rest of my life to my husband, and the day I became a mother, I will also always remember this day - even though it doesn't have a clever name like "birthday" or "anniversary".
I don't cry very often, but I cried that night on the plane because I knew I was leaving a life - and a piece of myself that couldn't exist anywhere else - that I loved. In Chile I became a different person. I learned things about God, about myself, and about the world that I never could have learned in my home culture. I knew there were more things to learn and I was heart broken not to be able to stay and find out what kind of a person I could become with those experiences. I was afraid to go home and revert back to who I had been.
In Chile I could go slowly, I could value people, I could let go of time and materialism. In Chile, Jesus was my best friend and God was my guide. In Chile I was far away from the pain I had left behind in the United States; I was safe. Life was simple.
I knew it couldn't go on forever, but I wasn't ready for it to end yet.
Although one of the major life lessons I learned in Chile was to trust Him because He already knows everything, I wasn't sure I should blame being sent home on God. It seemed like politics was more at fault. But it didn't take long before I could see God orchestrating everything out.
I needed to be home that summer if I was going to catch a certain someone before he left the country to pursue opportunities overseas. I needed to catch this guy so that we could get married and do life together. We needed to get married so we could give life to this beautiful baby girl.
In a few more years, I'm sure I'll have more to add to the chain of reasons why I needed to come home that day. The fun thing about looking back on your life is that hindsight is 20-20. Thankfully, God's sight is 20-20 all the time. So trust in His direction. It may not make sense or seem fun, but when you look back I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed.
That night on the plane, the one thing that made me smile between the tears was picturing the surprise on my friends and family's faces. They weren't expecting me until December. The only four people who were in the know were my Aunt and Uncle (transportation from airport to college) and my friends Emily and Andi (transportation from college to house and cameraman).
Thanks to Andi, you can watch the surprise for yourself. (try to ignore the bad Spanish grammar and spelling!)
So beautiful and so true!
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