Tuesday, March 3, 2015

When Life Gives You Watermelons


Moving to the Middle East has not been all that I'd expected. Spiritually it has been difficult. Professionally it has been challenging in ways I never expected. Personally I've been back on forth on the whole decision. However, this week has been a good week. I have finished an education certification for the International Baccalaureate (IB). Perhaps more importantly this week I finished paying off my school loans. As of this exact moment I am debt free.

It's weird because most people told me it would feel like a weight has been lifted, and I really don't feel that. Am I glad to be done with it, sure, but as a single man in my late 20's I didn't feel like they were a big deal. I probably wouldn't have paid them off if Bible didn't recommend it as a good idea. Also, I don't know what else I would spend my money on. The reality is I am a pretty simple guy. I love simple things. When joy comes by complex means it is stifled by stress. I like to read the news with a cup of tea in the morning. I like to read a book when I go to bed. I enjoy the occasional tobacco pipe in the early evening and an intriguing TV series like House of Cards. Traveling can be fun every now and then, but I live in another country and for now that's enough.

Feeling content is a rare activity for me though, and it's something I wish I could enjoy more often. I'm certain God brought me out here for a reason, and I am pretty sure I know what it is. I've asked Him my whole life to make me into the man He wants me to be, and I have always strived to be someone else. Here I have a chance to grow up without expectation of who I am or what I think people want of me. I can just be. And like a cat stuck in a tree clinging on for dear life I haven't let go very well. I've hurt some of the people I love dearly in the letting go process and that haunts me.

However, this week is a week of celebration. I am debt free. Thank you all for your prayers. If ever I have needed them now is the time. Pray for wisdom with my next life decisions, and healing from the past. I love you all.