Today I’m linking up with the Gypsy Mama for Five Minute Friday. Join me!
And for more great Five Minute Friday stories, click here!
Oh, and the guidelines: Write for five minutes.
No editing, revising, or worrying. Just write.
Today’s Topic: Deep. Breath.
Tonight I take a Deep. Breath.
And reflect.
It’ s been a year.
A year of being a family of three. ( Plus two doggies.
:)) A year (almost!) of my wonderful daughter.
A year of readjusting to being American. Almost a year of living in a new place…a place I have grown to love SO, SO much more than I ever thought possible.
A year of change as we’ve examined our fa ith and what
it truly means.
A year of amazing blessings in the form of new friends (and old ones, too!) who have had a profound impact on me.
And so this Deep. Breath. makes me smile.
And then I pause and take another Deep. Breath. This one causes a familiar ache in my heart.
That ache remembers friends left behind, many whom I will never see again.
Tears fill my eyes as I remember last hugs, promises, and the words, “I’ll never forget you.” And I haven’t. But I am scared that I will forget faces and that memories will fade. I don’t want them to.
This Deep. Breath. makes me hurt.
But then I take one more Deep. Breath. This one makes my heart sing because I’m reminded of the things God has been teaching me this year. The lessons have not been easy, nor are they over. He is shaping me, molding me, slowly making me into the woman He wants me to be. I hope my heart is tender enough for all of that.
This final Deep. Breath. gives me hope.
Hi! Visiting from thegypsymama, and so glad I did! I enjoyed hearing about your year- it is the same time frame I was thinking of when I wrote. I hope the coming year continues to bless you:)
Thanks for stopping by, PJ!
Hey Mel! This is Hannah…read your post from thegypsymama.
Thanks for writing! Where had you been before coming back to the U.S.? I’m in China…grown up here as an MK. Graduating from high school this year. So will be moving on to life in the U.S. Which is pretty foreign to me…though I’ve been there several times.
thanks for writing. Blessed day!
Hi Hannah, thanks for the note! My husband and I were in Indonesia for five years teaching at an International School. So we definitely understand culture shock, although our situation is different from yours. It’s hard to leave a place that is home for something that feels foreign. For probably six months after we returned, I felt like a stranger in my “own” country. So give yourself grace and time to adjust. It helped me to look for things that I loved about the U.S., too…it kept my attitude (mostly) positive, although there were definitely days when it was tough!
I prayed for you this morning and will continue to do so. Where in the U.S. are you headed? And congratulations on graduating!
Blessings!
Mel