When I announced to friends and family that I was moving to the UK for a year, a number of them expressed concern. They (mostly) weren't concerned for my safety or about my choice to move. Instead, they were worried that I'd move to the UK, fall madly in love, and never return. And they were right. I did fall in love. But not with a single person. I fell in love with the city of London itself. I fell in love with the Underground network, in its delays and in its lack of air conditioning. I fell in love with the late night take-outs with my landlords. I fell in love with Sundays, and the church families I've become a part of. I fell in love with the Anglican Communion Office and its eccentricities. I fell in love with the many friends that have come into my world. I have exactly 4 weeks left in the UK. It's taken me a while to wrap my head around picking up my life here, packing it into more suitcases than I'd like to admit, and leaving. I arrived in London with an open heart, and I forgot that being an open heart means things hurt. I'm leaving, after being a critical member of a communications team and launching various initiatives, but I leave having set my successor to reap my successes. Now that I've watched two different sets of friends get engaged, and yet another announce a pregnancy, I have to fly back to the US. These are big life moments and I'm going to be an ocean away. But I'd rather be heartbroken at leaving, then to have never opened my heart to London and all its adventures and people. You may be familiar with the musical Rent's iconic song, 'Seasons of Love,' and its question "how can you measure a year in the life of a woman or a man?" Well, I rewrote a bit of it, as I processed leaving.
There are lots of ways to measure this year. But I can't compare this year in any single one way. I must weigh all its aspects. And when I finally do measure this year, it's been absolutely phenomenal. I came to this country trusting that God would provide, and He did, far more than I could have asked or imagined. And now He is asking me to trust Him again. If this year is any example of the Lord's faithfulness, then I'm in for an incredible new adventure.
0 Comments
|
Details
Me: Amelia BrownAvid runner & baker, following God's call to year of mission and service work in the Episcopal Church & Anglican Communion. Archives
August 2018
Categories |