The First Week Back
Well friends, it has been about one week since I arrived at my Cali home!
While I miss my friends dearly, a lot has happened here!
My grandmother has moved in with us, so I have been adjusting with some new household members. My auntie moved in to help take care of her too, and we are renting my room out to a Chinese exchange student for the summer to help pay for my college tuition!
I have to say, each time I come home, it feels different. The first time back, for Christmas break, my family still seemed to be adjusting to me being gone. But this time, I came home and though they missed me, they had adjusted to a form of normalcy that caught me off guard! Actually, I felt really displaced in my home! My chores had been picked up by other family members, my room was filled with another student, and the spare room was occupied by my grandmother and aunt. My dressers were emptied and filled with current resident's clothing.
So, as you could guess, I feel pretty displaced... It is a weird sensation. I have found some spots to put my small belongings and t-shirts and shorts and such, but the first week of adjusting has been bumpier than expected.
That is where I want to share.
Paul writes that he found the secret of what it takes to be content, whatever the circumstances (Phil. 4:10-14). He writes, "Whatever I have, whatever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am."
God brought that verse back into my heart a couple of nights ago when I was feeling down about not having a place and a room and a space for myself. But then He graciously humbled me and reminded me of all of the people who don't have a room to themselves. In fact, one night I was at the dinner table with my mom and Johnny (the exchange student), and we were chatting about his hometown. He was telling us how crowded everything is because there are SO MANY people everywhere. He was so very grateful to be able to study in America and live here in our house where he even had a whole room to study and live in.
Then, I remembered the missionaries who had come to speak at our churches over the years. How many of them gave up their comforts to live in crowded, dilapidated towns to spread the Good News?
That's when I realized that my focus had been too concentrated on myself. I have it pretty good. Access to a fridge 24/7, surrounded by family, free to do as I please so long as I chip in with some chores here and there... and it makes perfect sense why I am displaced. Each of the rooms is for a good cause, and I needed to stop complaining (even if it was just quietly, to myself).
So, with the grace of God, my attitude has taken a shift. A shift towards gratitude, humility, and contentedness. For, "whatever I have, whatever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am."
Love,
Melly xoxo
While I miss my friends dearly, a lot has happened here!
My grandmother has moved in with us, so I have been adjusting with some new household members. My auntie moved in to help take care of her too, and we are renting my room out to a Chinese exchange student for the summer to help pay for my college tuition!
I have to say, each time I come home, it feels different. The first time back, for Christmas break, my family still seemed to be adjusting to me being gone. But this time, I came home and though they missed me, they had adjusted to a form of normalcy that caught me off guard! Actually, I felt really displaced in my home! My chores had been picked up by other family members, my room was filled with another student, and the spare room was occupied by my grandmother and aunt. My dressers were emptied and filled with current resident's clothing.
So, as you could guess, I feel pretty displaced... It is a weird sensation. I have found some spots to put my small belongings and t-shirts and shorts and such, but the first week of adjusting has been bumpier than expected.
That is where I want to share.
Paul writes that he found the secret of what it takes to be content, whatever the circumstances (Phil. 4:10-14). He writes, "Whatever I have, whatever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am."
God brought that verse back into my heart a couple of nights ago when I was feeling down about not having a place and a room and a space for myself. But then He graciously humbled me and reminded me of all of the people who don't have a room to themselves. In fact, one night I was at the dinner table with my mom and Johnny (the exchange student), and we were chatting about his hometown. He was telling us how crowded everything is because there are SO MANY people everywhere. He was so very grateful to be able to study in America and live here in our house where he even had a whole room to study and live in.
Then, I remembered the missionaries who had come to speak at our churches over the years. How many of them gave up their comforts to live in crowded, dilapidated towns to spread the Good News?
That's when I realized that my focus had been too concentrated on myself. I have it pretty good. Access to a fridge 24/7, surrounded by family, free to do as I please so long as I chip in with some chores here and there... and it makes perfect sense why I am displaced. Each of the rooms is for a good cause, and I needed to stop complaining (even if it was just quietly, to myself).
So, with the grace of God, my attitude has taken a shift. A shift towards gratitude, humility, and contentedness. For, "whatever I have, whatever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am."
Love,
Melly xoxo
Comments
Post a Comment