Another day,
another page. If we see life from this
perspective, we notice that that quite a novel is being constructed! It seems like all I can think about as I
write these posts is just how much story is being narrated in such a small
period of time. Each post I write I
continue to be dumbfounded by just how fast the time here in Spain is
flying. It’s flying so fast that now we
are in the halfway point of the semester!
From my last post till now, not much
actually happened in Spain this week.
For the first three days, all that really happened was a lot of
preparations for midterms and post-exam travel.
It was exciting, yet very stressful at the same time. It’s interesting when you know you have four
exams, yet a trip to pack for and plan out.
Now, don’t get me wrong, we had everything (flights and hotels) booked
and a rough idea of what we wanted to do, but nothing compares to actually figuring
out all that we really wanted to do specifically and make it happen. Greece may seem small, but it’s a pretty big
place, with lots to do and see. But,
alas, exams were still around the corner.
So, upon returning from Madrid on Sunday morning, I spent a lot of the day
studying and preparing for the impending week.
Even though nota lot happened during my normal weekly activities, I
still feel like a lot progressed. I will
now explain what I mean.
At
the beginning of the week, on Sunday, I decided that since it was such a nice
day (with lots of sun and very warm temperatures) I was going to take a walk
around the city of Segovia. What ended
up happening was I walked through the outskirts of the city, catching the sun
hitting the vast countryside. The
mountains and the hills were spectacular.
If I had to be completely honest, it all took me completely by surprise.
This is a panoramic view of the city from the perspective of the outskirts. Fun fact: my apartment in the city is actually a block from this path you can see to the right.
This walk ended up lasting two hours. And in that time, I realized something very
important: that day, four years ago, I made a very important decision. Four years ago, on February 23rd,
2010, I learned of the true love of the Father through his Holy Son Jesus. Four years ago that day, I made the decision
to start abandoning myself for the sake of living in His name. Four years ago that day, my life radically
changed. And nothing has been the same
since then. On this walk I reflected a
lot about just what has happened in such a short period of time.
The spots outside of the city are quite exquisite. They're great for contemplation.
“If anyone would come after me,
he must DENY himself and take up my cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose
it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.” –Mark
8:34-35
This
is the reason for the title of my post this week. As I go back a look at all of my thoughts and
experiences from the semester, I have tried to think of very meaningful and
connected titles for each week. And this
week was nothing but reflection of all that has encompassed my life for the
last few years. Honestly, it’s
mind-blowing. From where I started that
night to where I am now, everything has changed. I started a freshman in college looking to
study meteorology and become a weatherman/storm chaser/hurricane hunter. I started a freshman in college with a search
for attention. I started a freshman in
college with a very limited scope on even the life I wanted to pursue, even
though the dreams I had seemed very in the heights.
Now,
four years later, I sit here, in Spain, seeing this place every day and living the very real history and culture. I
am now in college for a fifth year because the Lord showed me what I really
needed to do with my life: to learn language to communicate in a more efficient
manner with a wider diversity of people and ultimately, enjoy community with
others in other contexts. I am now in a
fifth year in college because I learned just how much my first choice didn’t
bring me a sense of joy that my current major now does. I am now in a fifth year in a college because
I took a leap of faith and followed my heart and the Lord’s calling. Because of Him, I am seeing so much more of
the world through a very much larger lens of life. It brought me to tears just thinking about
it. And I wouldn’t trade this experience
for the world. And this is the
collection of thoughts that hit me right before studying for a bunch of
exams. Needless to say, that made it
hard to focus on a list of notes taken in class!
However,
despite all of those previous things, I still had four exams to study for and a
suitcase to pack for the week that we were about to have. Freedom was so close, yet so far away. Monday I had my first exam for my business
internship class, and it was pretty straightforward. Wednesday was the stressful day: three exams
back to back to back. First was art
history (lots of memorization), second was European Union Studies (lots of
description), and last was Spanish literature (lots of opinion). All in all, it wasn’t too bad. But, to put it simply, it was a lot. But, after I turned in my three-page essay
over the recent story we read in Lit, I was officially FREE! Well…from school anyways. Wednesday evening was the night to pack, but
still!
Thursday,
we headed out. After sleeping in a
little bit, having a later breakfast and a shower, I double-checked my luggage
to see that I had everything, went to the school to print off my ferry boarding
passes for later in the week, and waited for the rest of the group to finish
their other exam. When they finished, we
all made our way to the bus station to catch the next bus to Madrid! And thus, the journey to spring break
began! And quite the journey it was.
But
that’s for another day. I don’t want to
keep bombarding you with more details about that just yet. More will come again very soon! I just wanted to again take the time to thank
you all for following along with all of these details I have been posting. I know it’s a lot. In some ways, part of me thinks that maybe I
should pursue a career as a novelist. I
feel like I might be pretty good at it.
But anyways, until we meet again friends!
To
end I just want to end with this verse.
It is a verse that reminds me a lot of just how what this post has been
all about: the journey of life as we know it.
As fast as it may be going, despite all that has changed, and how
difficult the road may be sometimes, I am consistently reminded of this: the
Lord is the ultimate guide, he’s the ultimate strength, and really, he’s the
reason I’m here today. Thanks friends!
“You are my hiding place; you
will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. I will instruct you and teach you in the way
you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” –Psalm 73:23
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