I have been back in the States for a little less than a month now, and figured I should wrap up this blog with a few reflections on my time spent abroad. As I pass people I know at Hope and they ask how my time abroad was I usually settle for "good!" And it was. The longer answer is that it was also challenging, stretching, insightful, hard, exciting, strange, funny, and a myriad of other adjectives that still fall short of adaquately describing my 4+ months away.
In an effort to summarize, the following is a list of a few of the things I've learned, come to see differently, or appreciated about Ireland. I'm not sure that they are the most important things, or even how I would determine that yet, but they are things I feel compelled to share.
*Living in a city means walking, often long distances. Walking is great. 45 minutes is not too far to walk to go to the store. It gives you time to think, time to look around, and at times really makes you appreciate cars.
*Creativity and flexibility are important attributes to enjoying life and adapting.
*God is a God of cities, and the people in cities. Just as much as the Great Lakes or the North Coast are God's creation, they are his creation. In fact, even more so because people were made in God's image.
* I can live in a small space. I can live out of the things in a backpack for a week. I can live for four months without a clothes dryer.
*Although I may never have a wonderful sense of direction, with some determination I can use maps and follow directions.
*Things like syrup, sour cream, and muliple varietes of brownie mix are luxuries.
*Not being required to buy textbooks is great, sitting in a library for a few hours to read works just fine.
*God is faithful to his Word.
*There are so many different perspectives of cities, from people living in the same city, and everyones is different and worth hearing.
*Squash is a fun sport.
*Friendships don't all look the same and can have seasons.
*Kids are kids everywhere.
*Europe is great at providing opportunities to experience art and history for little or no charge.
*Often time differences in education, living accomadations, styles of management, etc. cannot be labeled with terms like "good" or "bad" or "better" or "worse."
*Mother Teresa was right when she said "In this life we cannot do great things, we can only do small things with great love."
*Public transportation, especially between cities, is wonderful.
*Want to learn about something? Look. Listen. Ask.
*If someone offers you a cup of tea, accept it.
"No, life cannot be understood flat on a page. It has to be lived; a person has to get out of his head, has to fall in love, has to memorize poems, has to jump off bridges into rivers, has to stand in an empty desert and whisper sonnets under his breath... We get one story, you and I, and one story alone. God has established the elements, the setting and the climax and resolution. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn't it?"
-Donald Miller,Through Painted Deserts
In an effort to summarize, the following is a list of a few of the things I've learned, come to see differently, or appreciated about Ireland. I'm not sure that they are the most important things, or even how I would determine that yet, but they are things I feel compelled to share.
*Living in a city means walking, often long distances. Walking is great. 45 minutes is not too far to walk to go to the store. It gives you time to think, time to look around, and at times really makes you appreciate cars.
*Creativity and flexibility are important attributes to enjoying life and adapting.
*God is a God of cities, and the people in cities. Just as much as the Great Lakes or the North Coast are God's creation, they are his creation. In fact, even more so because people were made in God's image.
* I can live in a small space. I can live out of the things in a backpack for a week. I can live for four months without a clothes dryer.
*Although I may never have a wonderful sense of direction, with some determination I can use maps and follow directions.
*Things like syrup, sour cream, and muliple varietes of brownie mix are luxuries.
*Not being required to buy textbooks is great, sitting in a library for a few hours to read works just fine.
*God is faithful to his Word.
*There are so many different perspectives of cities, from people living in the same city, and everyones is different and worth hearing.
*Squash is a fun sport.
*Friendships don't all look the same and can have seasons.
*Kids are kids everywhere.
*Europe is great at providing opportunities to experience art and history for little or no charge.
*Often time differences in education, living accomadations, styles of management, etc. cannot be labeled with terms like "good" or "bad" or "better" or "worse."
*Mother Teresa was right when she said "In this life we cannot do great things, we can only do small things with great love."
*Public transportation, especially between cities, is wonderful.
*Want to learn about something? Look. Listen. Ask.
*If someone offers you a cup of tea, accept it.
"No, life cannot be understood flat on a page. It has to be lived; a person has to get out of his head, has to fall in love, has to memorize poems, has to jump off bridges into rivers, has to stand in an empty desert and whisper sonnets under his breath... We get one story, you and I, and one story alone. God has established the elements, the setting and the climax and resolution. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn't it?"
-Donald Miller,Through Painted Deserts
Sunset over Giant's Causway. December 2009.
