i sit here as 12:45am rolls across the clock. the asian man above me snores quite loudly. the two australian men who sleep across the room just stumbled in & dropped literally everything they were carrying. our air conditioner decided to break today so it’s a little warmer than normal & the smell of eight sweaty humans is starting to become more prevalent. last week we battled a bed bug infestation on the floor above us. luckily none of those critters got in our room. i can’t remember the last time i went to the bathroom & there was actually toilet paper in there, but hey what can you expect when you pay $4 per night for a hostel? honestly, the fact that this has become so homey makes me laugh. what has life become?
that’s been a question on my mind lately. so often as i talk to people back home they say something like “wow your life is crazy! i wish i could do something like that!” my answer is always, “well why can’t you?” what is holding you back? if it’s what you want, why not make it a reality?
this life is something i still can’t wrap my head around & while it definitely has its lows (trust me, you hit rock bottom. we’ve all done it) i wouldn’t trade it for anything! these strangers i met as i set up my tent in a thunderstorm in georgia nine months ago are now some of my lifelong friends. countries i never even considered going to have wedged their way into my heart & completely taken over. ask me my perception of God & i can promise you you’ll get a long not well thought out answer that’s quite different than where it was last year. there are things i’ve done (babysitting while only speaking german, walking up to strangers to pray for them, blindly following a dog down the side of a foggy mountain, teaching a college communications class) that still don’t seem real to me.
my original teammate wrote a song and a lyric is “thank you Lord for calling me so young. the only way i made it was your breath in my lungs. i’m forever grateful & i’m forever changed.” those lyrics really speak to me. this life, i can’t wrap my head around it. the Lord has called me out so young but i’m so willing to say yes. if my life gets to look like this rad adventure, then count me in! forever.
1:00am has now rolled around & all i can think is this life could be yours. now you won’t necessarily have the snoring man or clumsy bunk mates. i pray you don’t battle bed bugs & always have ample toilet paper. but honestly, you don’t have to do the race. you don’t even need to leave the country. all you need to do is take a step back from the pressures of society, tune your heart to the Lord’s & say yes. think of all the grand adventures He could & wants to take you on. what a wild life you could be living.
madeleine
