I think on this trip I was expecting radical change within myself. Not that I exactly wanted it, but I felt I had no choice and that it was inevitable. I thought I’d come out a different person entirely. With different convictions, different understandings, just different. I was expecting earth quaking miracles and life shattering spiritual awakening. But I never knew that the things that would shake me to my core would be miniscule. Moments and things so small that if I’m not paying attention I could miss them entirely. The things that have changed within myself are not monumental at all, but in the long run they make the biggest difference. I’m not a different person, I still believe the same things, love the same things, laugh at the same things. But I’m a little softer. I’m a little wiser. I find a little more beauty in the world. I have a bigger appreciation for mothers, pastors, missionaries & just people all around. I stop to think before I speak. I try not to use words unless they’re life breathing. I stop forming opinions based on first impressions. I usually cry more when people cry, I don’t rush through my day. I stop and ask God what kind of day he wants me to have.
My perception of change has been shifted. I no longer think change has to be a life altering experience. I think change can occur in a single shift of a word, a change of infliction, a moment of listening over speaking. And if we let it in, one by one, that’s how you change the world.
