Home Sweet Home

After a three day journey across three continents in a plane and couple taxis, I arrived HOME! I have to tell you it was the strangest feeling to land in the country and have that "breathe a sigh of relief after a long journey away" feeling when you come home. That's what this place feels like to me now. That was also not something I was expecting upon returning.

In Dubai I waited overnight in the same airport terminal that I did a year and a half ago upon first entering this country for full-time work. The terminal had changed a bit, (thankgoodness! They put chairs in and a better coffee shop that served more than nescafe. So, I didn't have to sit on the floor and gag down instant coffee this time!) While I was sitting there I was realizing how much life and I have changed since I sat in that very spot just a year and a half ago. I thought how amazing it would be to have the Danika now sit down and have a talk with the Danika a year and a half ago. I wrote about that in my journal while I was there and wanted to write it here to share with you all:

"I would tell her to humble herself and just soak up the experiences. I would tell her to seek intimacy with Jesus above all else. I would tell her not to be so driven to be productive. I would tell her to allow herself to be broken and to learn from failure (and that failure WILL come!) I would tell her to enjoy the people and learn from them--just watch and listen. I would tell her to press hard into language because it sure does pay off and it is in conversation (along with love and time and effort) that relationships are fostered.

"I would tell her that beauty lies within and it cannot be destroyed or marred by man because it wells up from within, and the source is the River of LIFE, Jesus himself.

"I would tell her not to run from the difficult times for there she will meet her Savior face-to-face.
I would tell her to rest, take care of herself and not to be ashamed when she's weak. God truly is strength in our weakness.
I would tell her that she is loved, passionately, deeply, more intimately than she will ever know.

"And I would hug her and tell her she's not alone, that no matter where her two feet take her, she doesn't take those steps alone. No matter how overwhelming the loneliness becomes, she has a Companion, a Leader, a Protector and Provider on that journey."

Wow...who knew experience could dump that much wisdom on you just from a year and a half! And those lessons definitely didn't come easy or in a neatly defined and well-written manual. I hope I heed my own advice in the days to come. I could really use prayer. I'm diving back into leadership. The team seems to be really healthy and stable, praise God. But, we have some big decisions and a lot of work ahead of us to prepare for what's coming this spring. I'll be getting into that on Sunday when our work-week begins.