Well folks, I admit, I'm officially an awful blogger. It's not my intentions to be...and it's certainly not in my heart to let you all down with no updates from over here in the Motherland, but all I can say is I will do my best in 2012 to be better at communicating! I guess it does get hard trying to balance real life, and write about it too! I know to many of you, the life I'm living over here seems either wonderful and glorious, or hard and frustrating...and either way, you are eager to hear stories and see pictures, because it's a different life than you are living. But really, it's not! It's real life here that I do. It's my home...and the place I teach and love children, and serve our Maker. Yes, there are glorious, wonderful days. And yes, there are hard, frustrating days just the same! But I guess since I am so comfortable with this life now...I sometimes forget to tell you about it! Not that I have a lack of stories to tell! Too many, actually! Right now, I'm at that point...(and all of you who know me know how I'm like this..) where I have tooo many stories to tell..and I don't even know where to begin, so it's paralyzed me in the blogging world...and I haven't written about ANY of them! But I'm just going to start! And do my best to get back into writing! Thank you for your encouragement! :)
Every year that I've spent abroad, the month of January seems to be the most difficult! Either I've been sick, homesick for my other home, or just in a funk. And this January was no different! I know for some people, January is a month of new beginnings and a new birth and the anticipation of a new year. But for some reason, it's never been this way for me. It's been like the "hump" month to just endure and get over. I know that sounds horrible. Maybe you have a month or a "season" like this too....where you are enduring more than enjoying. Or surviving more than thriving. I think Jesus understands us when we have seasons like this. I know He does! The verse I have clung to recently is 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in ALL circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." It's so easy and natural to thank Him for the overtly good gifts in our life. But this verse reminds me to thank Him for the hard ones too....the gifts and blessings in disguise that are painful to bear now and to receive. Give thanks in ALL circumstances; for this is His will for you! It gives me hope! And what a nice surprise it was this week when I woke up and it was January no more! Yay for February! A month of celebrating LOVE, and Happy Birthday to my two beautiful sisters!
I promise I will start writing more frequently....but just to give you a brief update...I just spent a WONDERFUL 3 weeks in North Carolina for Christmas!! It was the first Christmas I had been back in a few years, and the first one all four of us had been together in while! So that made it extra-super special! It went by fast, and I was so fortunate to spend so much time with family. I totally surprised my mom by just showing up on her doorstep, and Ellie put one of those big Christmas bags over me...the ones that you use to wrap a bike...and then she rang the doorbell. Wow, you should have heard my mom screaming when she lifted the bag! She had no idea! It was GREAT! She said she thought I looked like a rocking chair under there, or something weird like that! It was so much fun to surprise her! And of course, I cherished every moment with little Aiden (who's not so little anymore!!). We saw Santa, sang, laughed, played in the leaves, and made memories. Christmas Eve at Grandma's was so special, and just the same as I always know it to be...the same sounds, smells, tastes....except of course I missed Pa hanging out by the crackling fire. On New Years, I had the privilege of speaking about Rwanda at Rocky Creek Presbyterian Church, my dad's new church, in South Carolina. They are the neatest, sweetest folks! I am so thankful for their generosity in allowing me to be there and make this long journey home! They are so kind! It was a wonderful day to be with them, and the best way to start a new year and new year of my life too!
More to come...and pictures too!
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