Tuesday, February 19, 2013

This is your life

Tonight, I re-read some of my older blog posts-simply because I have been haunted by the greatest feeling of nostalgia all day. 

Also I felt like changing the font and typing smaller words. Go figure. 

Pleasantly surprised to be reminded of the countless blog posts I wrote about wanting to travel, to see things from a different perspective, to live outside my comfortable little bubble, & to know that somehow, someway, I am making a difference. 

A (small) part of me still finds this whole thing surreal, that I am actually here, living out exactly what I typed months ago to myself. A promise I never thought I could or would keep; but I guess, sometimes we just have to love ourselves enough to know that we deserve to live out the dreams we so often talk about. The ones we tuck away in our hearts and in the darkest corners of our mind. 

I realize that dreams are possible, and so much more tangible than we maybe what we know. I also realize that our worst fears often reside in our minds-a very dangerous place indeed. But in reality, I find myself overcoming obstacles, albeit small ones, everyday. 

We were created for so much more than to live ordinary, mediocre lives. Sometimes I feel like my heart and my spirit will explode from excitement from this revelation-the knowledge that we, were made, for incredible things. Extraordinary things. 

We can accomplish significant things. We will x 

Monday, February 18, 2013

The road less traveled

I've always liked that Robert Frost poem, in so many ways it reminds me of what it means for me to be here. In a lot of ways, it also kind of reminds me of what it means to be a Christian.

To know that sometimes, making difficult choices or walking down the 'lonelier' path, can and will make all the difference.

I've been in The Netherlands for exactly one month now. To think that in the past 30 days I have slowly started building up my own little routine here, and have come to think of the International House as home. I experience the same relief coming home here as I did in Melbourne, and it makes me realize how short of a time frame it takes for one to regard a place as home.

I still feel like a foreigner here though for sure, I don't suppose I will ever truly get used to seeing/speaking/reading Dutch; and yet somehow I also feel a little more like I belong. Each day spent here with all the people I've met and grown to become so fond of, have made it easier for me to call this place home. I am blessed.

Traveling every weekend to a new place is tiring, but it has also made me realize how much bigger the world we live in is-making me feel smaller but not in an insignificant way per se, but more of a in-awe type of way.

I had no idea what to expect coming into this exchange; despite the struggles, and amidst the disappointments and failures I myself am so acutely aware of-I want to trust that You are still sovereign and doing something in and through me. Believing in a greater purpose is really the only thing spurring me on.

A month down the road and ill say that, it's been amazing already. I'm not quite sure what the next four months will hold-but whatever it is, I am ready.