*title brought to you by the copious amount of friends I watched on my plane over the ocean*
This is the blog. The blog. The one I never thought would come. The one I am overjoyed yet deeply grieved all in one to be writing.
I am home.
This is a weird thing to write, to say, and to process. In truth, I have been home for every month of the past (almost) ten. This was not simply a trip. It was my life for a year. I didn’t just visit these countries. I lived in them, embracing the culture and placing roots and making friends.
But nonetheless, I am home. To my first and my lasting one, with a bit of my heart left behind and a bit newly carried with me from every place I have unpacked my bag.
I have to relearn this home. Placing my toothbrush the drawer of a bathroom I don’t share with seven (or thirty+) people. Water that doesn’t run out or have to be filtered to be drinkable. Food that doesn’t go bad after a few days. Understanding every word that everyone around me is saying all at once.
The places I have lived are much different than America. There is an element of newness surrounding this once very familiar land. I feel little bit like a stranger. Being here is good, but it is hard. I ask for grace.
I am also much different, and I know you are as well. A process of relearning each other will also take place. This is not a bad thing, but rather something that can be truly beautiful. I am excited to share my year with you. I crave to hear stories- the joys and the troubles- of yours.
In this, please know that I love you. I love you and I cannot wait to reconnect, but I will need time. I want to share stories, but sometimes they will not come. My teammate Liz said so well, “A lot of my year is locked away in brain boxes that I have to find, dust off and sort through.” I have lived life on fast forward, packing up and greeting a new place without a lot of time to process the last.
I will do much of this processing with you as we talk and experiences, pain, and lessons learned come to mind. Much of this processing though will happen in the quiet of my room. I am learning to be okay with this, with taking the time that I need to grieve and cry and rejoice over this journey the Lord has taken me on.
In short, my heart is so full. I feel extremely loved in this place. As He has with every season, the Lord is meeting me here. He is by my side in all the relearning and His heart is evident in each of you. Please feel free to reach out. I love to hear from you. And know that I will do the same, as I can.
It’s been quite the journey. I’ve said yes to the Lord and I will keep saying yes, wherever that “yes” takes me. I am thankful to the Lord that our journeys are mingling once more.
Love and a very thankful heart to all of you.
Abigail
