PROCESSING THE CHANGE

It's been four days since my flight touched down in YVR. I'm realizing more and more that even though I thought I'd been away for one year and then another year, reality is that I've been away for two years. It might not seem like such a big difference, but it is. I'm grateful that I decided to delay my return date to Toronto by a few days, grateful, too, for my friend here who's allowing me to crash at her house.

I'm a basketcase.

So far, here are some things that remind me that I'm not in East Asia anymore:
-clear sky! you know people have just come back from someplace polluted when they stand around in a group waiting for their hotel shuttle, all gawking at the fact that they can see every leaf on a tree 100m away.
-the garbage can at McDonalds was not only automated, it talked!!!!
-people are gracious in line-ups
-my boogers aren't black (sorry, but it's true!)
-i can flush my toilet paper
-even though people here are wearing tank tops and skirts, i find myself putting on a jacket over top of my sweater (clear 28 degree weather feels COLD compared to muggy 38 degree weather, ok?!)
-freedom to worship - I can sing to the LORD and read His word wherever and whenever. wow.
-things are made with real quality - even the coinage is heavier here!
-hot water is hot and cold water is cold
-everything is so spread out (maybe downtown will be better?)
-food here feels more acidic to my stomach
-i can read all the ads and signs

coming back second time around is harder in a lot of ways. i've gotten so used to the lifestyle and people overseas, readusting requires a deeper grieving. i need to remember thankfulness though. every step God leads me in is what He thinks is best for me. so I will thank Jesus, for bringing me back safely, for giving me "green pastures and quiet waters", for resources and time to heal, for doing it all so that i don't have to perform anymore.

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he restores my soul.
~Psalm 23:1-3a~

WHOOPS... DID I SAY THAT?

So I was having a deep conversation with my friend yesterday, telling her about how God has been encouraging me lately. I shared with her my moment of insight last weekend as I sat on the train staring out the window at the railroad tracks. I told her about how even though there were two iron tracks and small rocks filled all the space between them, there were still wildflowers that managed to bloom in between the rocks. This was a picture of God's power and will for LIFE. That despite the human tendency to ruin things and make things dead, God's Spirit prevails.

It all went well until I realized from her expression that something wasn't right. Then, I realized what had come out of my mouth: instead of saying stones, I said that between the two railway tracks, small tongues filled the space between them!

ugh. hahahaha... thus ends this chapter of my adventures

The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
~Genesis 2:7~