265 days ago I packed a backpack full of material possessions I had my fist tightly gripped around. I squeezed my family in the tightest of goodbye hugs. Blinked back an ocean full of tears. Took a deep breath and then took the first step.
265 days later. 6,360 hours full of the hard things. The beautiful things. The adventurous things. The best yes things. The heartbreaking things. And the life changing, Holy Spirit filled things. Here I sit, preparing to pack my bag for the very last time. This time around my backpack is much lighter. My fist, unclenched. My eyes allowing the tears to flow freely. Hugging longer, laughing harder. Feeling a little more deeply. Embracing every second.
It’s funny how so much can change over the course of nine months. When I stepped foot on my first flight I knew I was leaving the girl I once was behind. Now as I prepare to step on my last, I stand in confidence knowing I am a new creation.
A new season started nine months ago. Now however, it’s ending and I’m preparing to jump into the next one. Home.
Such a small, little word packed with meaning.Vibrancy and warmth. It rolls well off the tongue. But it’s a word I haven’t said very often. Home.
Just like the Word Race was new, terrifying, and exciting. That’s how I view home right now. New. Terrifying. Exciting. The things I use to consider normal, are now the furthest thing from my everyday. My normal has been eating lots of rice. Bugs. Picking lice out of hair. Dancing in the street. Chasing after strangers to pray over them. Living in a perpetual state of dirty. That’s been normal. Louisiana now, is just as foreign to me as Nicaragua, Cambodia, Thailand, and South Africa once were. So as I take a step into a new season, I’m going to need an abundance of grace and acceptance. It’s going to be a process. Probably slow and a little messy. But I’ve learned the process is beautiful and one to be embraced.
So here it goes. I’m taking a deep breath, preparing to take the first step into something a little more foreign than Asia. Home.
