Yesterday I got my first mail from the states! It just took 3 weeks in transit. :) When most of the time I check my mailbox it's empty, or when it does have something it's completely in Chinese, it was very exciting to open it to find something in familiar handwriting: a card from a dear friend.
In it she reminded me that though there are lots of hard parts to life overseas, that we are blessed. "I see you as rich" she put it. A reminder I needed.
It's so easy to get lost in how much time life takes (like paying rent took 5 hours on Saturday. It used to take us under 5 minutes!) or how much work it is (I've lost weight from it all - but it does feels healthy to be so active!) or how hard it is to be so far from family and friends, to be awake while you know they're sleeping... Life is very different over here, and sometimes - actually a lot of the time - we don't even really like it all that much.
But we are growing. We are learning. And we are experiencing things many people only dream about. We'll have stories to look back on and our lives are richer as a result of this experience. We are blessed.
And each day life seems a little more settled. No, we don't have our boxes yet... I'm getting so tired of the same 6 outfits, and want those family pictures to hang on the wall. But, it's still freeing to do with less, and realize how little you really need. These lessons are ones we'll carry with us.
Each one of us has our own challenges. Overseas or not... life is hard. But God truly is good. So let's keep looking to him, embracing the places and people He gives us, and glorifying Him in each place or season He's placed us.
This is Helen-
ReplyDeleteGetting a letter is very exciting! I hope to write you sometime. We have been on vacation. Just got back.