So I have been back home for a little over 3 weeks now. The most popular question people seem to ask me (besides the did you find yourself a woman over there question) is how does it feel to be home? Honestly its up and down. Sometimes its amazing, like when I sink my teeth in the oh so missed in-n-out double double, other times its just plain overwhelming, I have a new profound fear of malls. While home is more or less the same, minus all of the hundreds of friends now married...btw congrats! It is safe to say that I am changed. Not just physically, although the beard and hair are gone :(, but my internal core was rocked when I was over there and you don't really realize the extent of it until your back into a familiar place. You see traveling breaks you, its challenging, and dirty, and challenging, and always changing. Everyday I was put to the test in some way. There was always one situation(or multiple) that I didn't feel like going through, whether it was speaking Spanish, meeting a new person, or enduring another hair raising 12 hour night bus ride. Its that wall of resistance we as humans dread because we would rather have things be or feel easy. But everytime I would tell myself the epic words of Woody Harrelson from Zombieland, "Its time to nut up or shut up," and that would usually get me going. Now trust me after 6 months of pushing through there is a part of me that is still exhausted. But I learned that a life without challenge is not worth living just like and adventure without its downfalls is not worth going on. I learned a harsh but necessary reality of life, that most of the time I'm not going to feel like doing stuff. Initially I'm usually not going to feel like going to the gym, or going to class, doing homework, working, going to church, or even reading my bible but thats okay, I want to do these things so I push through. Like Donald Miller says, A good story is when a character finds out what they want and go through conflict to get it. The bigger the conflict the better the story. Not that we should intentionally seek conflict in every decision (work smart, not hard does have some meaning to it) but we shouldn't turn away from something because it will be too hard. Especially as Christians, Christ guarantees hardship, rejection and all of the above. But he also promises peace, strength and hope.
"The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. (Isaiah 58:11)
I feel I could write about this for days but I will digress. God is good he taught me alot and I think he will be teaching me things from this trip for a lifetime. For now I'm home, and for the first time since I started college I am content with that. South America will always have a special place in my heart with its culture, people, food, noise, smells and beautiful chaos. Thanks for sharing the adventure with me and there are many more to come!
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