I
have a dead person about 12 inches from my face.
I’m
in a crouching position wearing latex gloves holding a wet rag.
hands scrub furiously as I try to get the dried blood off the walls.
I’m
not writing a fiction novel – this really happened.
I
graduated from the G42 Leadership Academy in the middle of December.
did not come to South Korea for my English Job until March 1st.
That
means I had two months at home in Illinois in between.
I
needed cash for bills and to prepare for Korea.
there I was, working for a family friend that owned a funeral home.
my two months there I cleaned out garages and
Shoveled snow. Ran errands. Saw
And
yes I painted the embalming room.
first required me to scrub the walls clean. And sometimes in the embalming process a little blood squirts out onto
the walls.
this for a second.
One
day you are in Southern Spain living right on the Mediterranean. Mountains all
around you. The community is the best
you will ever experience. Incredible Food. Discipleship. Life is just right.
very next week you are back home in the midst of a cold, grey winter. Besides
family,
the walls of an embalming room.
should have been harder on me but it wasn’t.
In
the last 5 years each time I have made a Big Transition I have done better than
before.
the way there have been a lot of growing pains. (I mean reconciling what you
see in Santa Monica with what you experienced in Africa is tough!)
My
time at G42 capped off an important theme in my life.
I
left finally fully knowing who I am.
fully comfortable in my own skin.
I
spent hours painting an embalming room in the middle of winter.
And
I did it with a smile on my face and a good attitude.
fact I fully enjoyed my time at home just as much as I enjoyed Spain.
I thought about why I came to this conclusion:
you are – You can thrive wherever you are”
Illinois,
Spain, Africa or South Korea. It desn’t matter.
Because
I know who I am.
