if you keep up with anyone currently on the race (or who has gone in the past) then you wouldn’t be surprised if they said that month 3 is a tough one. you have gotten to the point where you know your teammates well, have gained the responsibility to do ministry everyday, & are familiar with the fact that you are not home. but believe me when I tell you there are days that hit you harder than normal & I without a doubt experienced that last week.
as you all know, last thursday was thanksgiving. I’m very confident that I have some of the best people in my life so I miss them quite often but this was to a whole new extent. not only that, but I am also well aware of the fact that my friends were going to see each other while on break. however, this has been the one time that every single one of them were in the same place since I left. the ones from out of state, different schools, different grade levels, EVERYONE. okay, maybe not everyone. it’s just that when you are 8000+ miles away, it is easy to feel like all your favorite people coincidentally happen to be in the same exact place at the same exact time. I got text messages & facetime calls while everyone was home & it felt so normal & I seriously loved feeling like I was there in some way. it was super hard but is most definitely a reason to be thankful. that reason, in addition to my thankfulness of having the connection to talk to them even if it was only for a short period of time while at a coffee shop getting wifi or using presley’s hotspot. (thank you presley) (to clarify: we don’t have wifi at our hostel)
this feeling didn’t stop because I was quickly hit with the reality that this was the first thanksgiving I wasn’t spending with my family. little details that I had always taken for granted are the things I missed most. to name a few: my grandma (Mamie) buys my cousins & I ornaments every single year. they are customized with our names & the year in the most creative & cute way. Mamie also reads a heartwarming story before we eat. it is different every year but never fails to bring her to tears as she is reading it. also the dinner rolls!!! you can’t forget the dinner rolls! oh my goodness they are so good. I would fill my plate up with more rolls then I would any other food item in the years past. my mom told me they even had extra rolls at the end of the night which is definitely due to the fact that I wasn’t there to clean out the roll tin. it’s the little things folks!!! if you were able to spend thanksgiving with your family this year, take a moment & thank God. if you weren’t able to spend thanksgiving with your family this year, still take a moment & thank God.
this year’s thanksgiving/ break wasn’t what I am used to but how cool is it that the Lord gave me SO many more things to be thankful for this time around. the people that I had the privilege of spending thanksgiving with this year don’t replace the ones at home who I love dearly, but I know that next year I will really miss having them at my table. I am constantly gaining more understanding of how these people are a family to me & this holiday with them was one I will remember forever. God bless the people I live & do life with right now & God bless the people I lived & did life with at home & will live & do life with once again in a 6 months!!!! (also praise the Lord for Texas Chicken honey butter biscuits, if you know you know).
also thanks to Jesus that He remains constant in all of this! when there are changes & new things to adjust to, it is comfortable knowing that He stays the same. yesterday, today & forever!!!
