I’m sitting here in Blackwood Coffee and can’t think of anything to blog about. I know there is so much to tell everyone, but it’s all a glob of memories that I can’t seem to sort through these days. One passes by and before I know it I’m on to the next memory. Welcome to month eight! Where lines get blurry and thoughts get cloudy and you can’t remember what country, better yet what continent, you are in when you look out the train window (that actually happened to me…). There are four more months left and there is this feeling of “newness” that my team and I discussed a few nights ago.
(Oh! BTW, I am team leader and this is Team Zazu, my new team: )
Newness is a great thing. It makes me think about the way I’ve been living the past eight months. I feel like I have a new found excitement and “gung hoe – ness” about everything. Maybe it’s because I can see the finish line, and I now want to be extra sure I am soaking everything up as much as I possibly can. I’ll admit, there have been moments and stretches of the Race where I have wanted to go home more than anything. There have been times where I have missed every little thing about home (I even offered to walk my family’s dog every day when I get home….). I found myself day dreaming about the kale and tofu salad with pumpkin and pomegranate seeds from the Daily Kitchen and Bar at home while I was eating delicious dandelion greens cooked in coconut milk over rice that I probably won’t ever experience the exact same way in this life time. I found myself waking up and craving my dad’s coffee and fire pit when I had a fresh French press cup of coffee in Europe with beautiful fresh flowers on the table. Home is a wonderful place! But so is exactly where I am at!
This month, I am in Malaysia. It rains hard at least two hours every day and its hot and muggy the rest of the time. So, I’m going to literally dance in the rain and I am going to rejoice in the detoxification of my skin in this constant sauna. My hair is a crazy, frizzy mess all the time and my face constantly has a stickiness to it from the humidity. So, I am going to rock the messy bun and all the braids and I am going to enjoy not wearing makeup for the next four months because I am beautiful and confident without it. Dinner looks like going to this place called the “White Tent” every night and eating dishes that are supposedly different but taste essentially the same. So, I am going to love on the waiters, especially our friend Hafis, and show them the joy and love of Jesus through my smile and my presence.
I honestly can say that I don’t want to go home yet. I couldn’t tell you that two months ago. Let’s be real, though, I couldn’t even tell you that last month. Thank you, Papa, for renewing my joy and giving me more life and energy to keep running hard to the finish line with all I’ve got. Thank you for helping my embrace the days you’ve written for me. It’s go time, and I’m ready for whatever the Spirit has for me the rest of these four months!
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Do you find yourself “wishing away” moments that you will never get back? Do you often find yourself day dreaming of a place far away that you’d rather be in? Start living in the moment and embracing the place and space the Lord has given you for this time. For such a time as this He has set you where you are. Rejoice in the little things and know that you won’t be there forever. So soak it up because you’ll get through it and miss it one day.
