It has been seven weeks and one day since my plane from Bucharest, Romania, touched down on US soil. It has been six weeks since I returned home to the beautiful mountains of New Mexico. It is good to be home.
In those seven weeks, I have reconnected with family and a few close friends.
I have relearned how to use a cell phone.
I have been amazed to turn the faucet on and feel instantaneous hot or cold water pour out over my hands. My return to twice-a-day showers has been absolutely blissful.
I have been overjoyed to hear the sound of the toilet flush, and to know I can actually flush toilet paper down the hole. Yes, really.
I have had to exercise extra self-control in the face of constant internet access. I realized after being without consistent internet access over the past year, I went a bit overboard my first few weeks home. Granted, I missed my teammates and realized you can't quite quit that teammate interaction "cold turkey," when it's been all that you've known for the past eleven months. I'm thankful that technology makes it possible to keep in touch frequently with each teammate, but I also know this is the beginning of a new season for my relationships with each of them.
In those seven weeks, I have only begun to process the implications and lessons learned over my eleven months on the World Race. I am sure the reflection process is going to take a very long time… perhaps the rest of my life… but I believe that processing is just as important as the actual journey itself.
I am thankful that God is not through with me yet. In several of the presentations I have given since I've been home, I have shared that my "Race" isn't over, but that it continues on. It looks different today than it did on the World Race, but I want to keep pressing into what God has for me each day… To hear His voice… to read His Word…to spend time in His presence. I know these are the only fully satisfying nourishment for my soul and my spirit.
I hadn't been off of the plane for three hours before I first heard the question that has been following me around ever since: "What's next?"
The whole truth is that I'm not completely sure. The other part of that truth is that I know God knows and that I presently only have a few small glimpses of His plans:
The first thing is that I recently started my own Photo Card business, called Chikondi Creations. I decided to create photo cards using some of the pictures I have taken, not only in the past year on the World Race, but in my travels around the globe. The word "Chikondi" is the Chichewa (from Malawi, Africa) word for "Love." My desire is to capture the handiwork of the Divine Creator… the beauty and splendor of His magnificent art work that He creates IN LOVE for each of us to enjoy… and to be able to share that love in the cards I create. I am far from being a professional photographer, but it does bring me great joy to be able to capture the small moments God has put in front of me.
Another endeavor: I am planning to move up to Fort Collins, Colorado, in a few weeks. Within that, I am hoping to find a few substitute teaching positions to make a bit of an income. I didn't feel like the Lord wanted me to work full-time in the classroom this year, so it's going to be a bit of a transition to not have my own classroom this year, but I am sure God will still be at work in whatever unfolds in that respect.
Lastly, thanks to the encouragement from many of you, my beloved readers, I am going to try to write a book. I am not completely sure what the book will be about yet, but I believe God will make that clear as He directs me through the process. I am sure there will be many bits and pieces from my journeys on the World Race and beyond. I am hoping to focus a bulk of my time in Fort Collins on writing my book, but we shall just see what unfolds.
There is much ahead in the grand adventure to come, but I am excited to see all that unfolds. In the meantime, thank you for your continued prayers and support as I seek God's plans for my future.
To close, here's a snapshot I took during a lightning storm I saw the evening I returned from a short trip to Fort Collins. Isn't God's work awe-inspiring?
