Sweating Standing Still (or What Am I Doing?)

For the past nine months, ever since I moved across the world, I have not spent a night away from my own house. This is all about to change. For the next month I will be moving from guest house to guest house, friend’s house to friend’s house, province to province, island to island.

I am taking a unit off of language school in order to do some travelling within the country. My plan is to visit two other islands in order to get a feel for what they are like, meet some of the people who live there, and see firsthand what it could look like for me to live and work there.

 I am excited to visit old friends & meet new ones. I am excited to see new places & try new things. I am excited to have my enthusiasm rekindled for what God is doing here. I am excited to think about how He might want to use me.

 As I prepare to embark on this adventure, I remember when I made a similar trip 2 ½ years ago. Then I was visiting several different countries, seeking direction for where I should move. I remember the excitement & anticipation I felt. I remember wondering if I would be able to stand the heat. I remember the travel adventures I had along the way, and how many things went differently than I planned.

 I remember the young guy I sat next to on the flight from Calgary to Vancouver 2 ½ years ago. I never knew his name, but he told me almost everything else about himself: his hobbies, his shoe size, his work, his small bladder. He let me listen to a song he was writing on his computer. He told me he hates camping and bugs, and when they paved paradise to put up a parking lot, he was all for it.

This guy told me about when he went to Australia for vacation with his buddies. He said as soon as they stepped off the plane in Sydney, the air felt different. It felt hot and heavy and not like Canada. It felt like vacation. He told me it was so hot that they sweated when they stood still. He told me I would love it. I told him I hate sweating. “No you don’t!” he responded quickly, “When you’re so hot that you’re sweating standing still, that’s when you know you’re on vacation! That’s when you know you’re doing something so different than your normal life! That’s when you know you’re on an adventure!”

 As I make preparations to leave my cooler, mountainous home to venture to other parts of the country, people keep warning me about how hot it is there. And when they do, I remind myself that if it’s hot and I get sweaty, it’s OK. That’s how I know this is an adventure.  J