Literally 1000 mph.
That’s how fast life seems to be moving. In fact, when I look at the camera roll on my phone, I can barely keep track of and remember all of the places I’ve been to or faces I’ve seen recently. For example, I was scrolling through my photos to find something for a friend and I see ANGKOR WAT. ANGKOR FREAKIN WAT, as my team likes to say 😉 Yeah, one day in Cambodia, we all woke up at 3 am, threw on backpack versions of “cute outfits” and headed out the door to see these ancient temples at sunrise. It’s a wonder of the world, and I got to see it. It’s so stinkin rad for a girl who never thought she’d see Asia; heck I never thought I would have wanted to go see Asia, but God clearly changed that.
I’m sitting in my bedroom in Buffalo- a place where my pride is slightly injured at how many times this place has been home base, or maybe a more accurate term would be a crash landing pad (is this too soon of a pun for those who know I got into a really bad car accident last week? Probs). But here I am, one year after coming home from the World Race.
It’s crazy to reflect on all that God did this year, the year after my race. You think that if you spend a whole year traveling with some of your best buddies and living a life of whimsy and adventure, it’d be pretty hard for God to top that year. I waited expectantly, wondering. What would God do with my life a year after my Race. How could he top it? After coming home from the race, people encouraged me by saying that the year of my race won’t be the best year of my life, despite how hard that is to believe now; they told me that I will experience better and cooler things in the coming years. When I would hear people say that, I would roll my eyes internally a little bit (not externally because I’m way too nice for that). But inside my heart, I would think, how do you know that? How do you know what God has in store for me? How do you know this coming year will have better things coming?
Now, I can sit back and laugh at those silly, prideful thoughts of a skeptic. Sitting a year after my race, feeling as though I just had the best year of my life- so far, that is 😉
I didn’t write all that much about my last 3 month trip to Asia that I am currently recovering from. I didn’t post blogs that much simply because I wanted to be present in the moment and I just had different priorities and goals for this trip, as the leader.
But this morning, sitting in Buffalo after a mini blizzard last night, a hot cup of coffee nearby, a day after getting a staple removed from my head, I open up my computer to work on resumes, but instead, God led me here, to writing. I feel as though I need to take a moment, or these next several days til Christmas, and just slow down. Just slow down and spend some time processing this trip. At night, my head is finally landing on a pair of pillows that it will be staying with for more than just a few days, and it’s an odd feeling.
To summarize, I came home from Southeast Asia (what what! It will never get old saying that) two weeks ago. We landed in Atlanta, Georgia, and I spent several days reconnecting with wonderful friends in Gainesville. Those first few days with my Gainesville peeps were fun and sweet; I was allowed to wear leggings and drink Jack again! Going into a giant Kroger with all their frozen pizza options and a hundred different types of toothpaste was a fun adventure. It’s neat having gone through this “re-entry” process once before, because if there’s anything I’ve learned, it’s that you will indeed survive this weird phase of transition, no matter how hard it is or how many mini freakouts you have at a grocery store or in a Starbucks line. This time, I simply get to have fun with it and enjoy it because I know that I’ll come out the other end of it. So yeah, I’m going to be excited to wear scarves and boots again, and Kroger runs feel like an adventure, it’s cool.
But in processing and reflecting on this trip and the last few weeks, perhaps God will lead me to writing more and sharing about my trip and experiences. I’ve learned a lot and I’d love to share more of it. A few things that I would love to share about are: Cambodia. I would love to tell you all about Cambodia and those sweet, sweet kiddos, all the things they taught me and maybe I’ll try to paint you a picture of how amazing, kind and generous our Cambodian host family is and how my bottom lip quivered and my eyes filled with tears when I watched them drive away. Maybe I’ll write about what I learned from not drinking alcohol for 3 months. And my girls. I’d love to tell you about the team of girls that I was placed to walk alongside, the community that we formed and the sisterhood that I know will withstand. They really are amazing young ladies, and I love them dearly. So I guess what I’m saying is, stay tuned for more, maybe 😉
Happy Blizzarding
Also, just two posts below this one is a blog from a year ago about coming home from the World Race-it’s a pretty fun read
