2 weeks from today I will be getting on a plane moving back to the U.S.
The strike-through shows you how much progress I've made on writing this post.
It is the end of an era, the closing of a chapter, the change of a season. It feels like it is reflected in the changing weather here. We don't have snow or Jack Frost nipping, but we have cloudy days, cool breezes, scattered rain showers, and weather cool enough to justify a blanket at night on the bed.
At any of these transitions, the natural tendency is to reflect on what has passed and reassess the trajectory of life ahead. Life here is relatively distraction-free, with large chunks of unstructured time, and yet I still find it difficult to reflect and quiet my mind.
I want this post to touch peoples' hearts, amaze their spirits, carry profound truth- I want it to make a difference. What I'm expecting from this post is I suppose reflective of what I want out of my life- to make a difference. Sometimes I think I avoid introspection because I'm scared I'll be disappointed in myself; that all I will see is what I have failed to do, the sins of omission, and the times I have acted selfishly rather than in the interests of others.
This is not the forum to open up about my deepest fears and hardest questions, but if you see me anytime soon and want to ask, I'm willing to share. Just be prepared with tissues. Transitions are hard, even for those of us with lots of practice.
So what now? The adventure continues in Alaska. I'll be working part-time in several different hospitals around the state, paying off student loans and hopefully re-establishing a home base. I'm open to working overseas again but don't yet know when or where that will be.
During these last two years I've had free time to read and have conversations with people about service, missions, global health, faith, politics, personal conviction. One of the books I read was Love Does (Bob Goff). I saw a video today with him speaking, and it was a good exhortation framing my direction from here.
Goals for life: love God, love people, do stuff. We'll see what that looks like in the days ahead.
