Christmas in the mid-Atlantic is awfully wonderful. It is usually freezing cold and one can almost always bank on some white stuff. I miss home more than I can express.
Home.
I remember last Christmas . . .
I had been in Colorado for six months and was anxious to see my favorite people in the world. Flying into the familiar Philly airport was a relief because it meant I was almost home. Then, I saw my Dad. He always seems to be the one to pick me up and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Last Christmas was perfect. I watched The Holiday with my mom and sister, went on multiple runs on icy back roads in my Under Armour, and made hundreds of pizzelles. There was record snow the week I flew home. Though there was a state of emergency, I still made the trek to the beach where my Grandfather pulled out crabs he had stored in the freezer since August.
Wawa…fabulous on any day, especially Christmas Eve.
I love her.
View from my bedroom at the beach
Myself, Jeff, and Lindsay – Christmas, 2010
Anyone who knows me can easily recognize that I love my family a whole heck of a lot. I love the thought of going home. This Christmas in India was slightly difficult. I did cry a few times. I shed some tears after I got off the family skype date in the desolate YWAM office. This could also be attributed to the fact that I was listening to somber Christmas music that was stirring up my emotions. During church, I cried while the choir was singing. I cried when I saw that my Uncle Ed posted on my facebook wall about saving some chocolate straws for me. I cried at the end of It’s A Wonderful Life. I would have done that at home also . . .
Yeah, it was tough, but I think I just made it out to be worse than it was. This Christmas was truly great. And I’m not just saying this in retrospect. I actually loved it immensely. Yes, I cried, but I knew that tears would be inevitable from the beginning. Back at Thanksgiving in Nepal, I came to the realization that this is where the Lord has me. This is a lesson that I knew would have to be learned from the beginning of this trip. It all made sense last month back in the flatlands of Sarlahi and it still does today.
Jesus proclaims a great truth in Luke 18:29-30, “…no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.” The Lord first pointed me to this verse at the very beginning of this trip when I was trying to grasp the concept of being away for an entire year. He brought it back to my attention at Thanksgiving and it has been made truth to me today. In a larger sense, I want to be able to abandon anything, even the thing that is most important to me on earth for the sake of where God has called me. There is no place I would rather be than here in his arms.
Hanging out with some of the YWAM staff on Christmas day
Improv Christmas skit for a children's home "…the angel of the
Lord appeared…"
I have given up snow, a candlelight service and a Wawa pit stop in exchange for palm trees, new friends, and chai on the roof. He gives and takes away. He takes away and gives. I must always be willing to surrender the way I intend things to be for His plan. I love my new team and family for this year…
Myself, Natalie, Brittany, Katie, and Stephanie
Thanks to Katie Bury and Stephanie May for the India photos!
