Eve of Departure

It is the eve of my departure and I think I have everything... It doesn't feel like I am leaving or like I will be gone for the better part of a year. I am not anxious, apprehensive, or even that enthusiastic. I am excited, sure, but I don't really feel anything. That makes me think it is going to be a difficult plane ride. Please pray for my safety and for encouragement. I may not need it now, but I have no doubt I will in the near future. Thank you to everyone who has gotten me this far! Stay tuned for more updates!

Only a Month From Today!

In one month from today I shall be willfully waking up at four in the morning, driving to a land made of concrete, sitting inside a giant metal bird, and flying to a land far far away. In one month from today, I shall be embarking on a journey. It is a journey presented itself out of nowhere and asked me to come away, yet it is something I have been preparing for my entire life. Or perhaps, it is merely a physical point on the map of a journey I am already on. Regardless of the metaphorical meanings of the journey and how it marks the beginnings of my adult life, the reality is plain and simple. In one month from today, I go to Ireland.  I will be on the other side of the world, learning to live in new ways. I will be experiencing another side of life and in some ways, I will be tasting The Other Side. We all only live this life once, but there is the other side, where pain ceases and joy overwhelms. I believe that we can experience small pieces of the other side while here on Earth, but only enough to encourage us to pursue the end, to live this life with purpose. I don't know what is in store for me in Ireland, but I am going there to live how I am called to live: as a follower of Christ.