Yesterday I went out to UNH to take a tour with two of the coolest kids on the block. hehe. Despite the rain, Pat, Andy, and I had a pretty great time. I had the chance to learn some pretty interesting secrets about the campus....and above all else I ate a lot of good UNH food. I have to admit, if it came down to my stomach making my college decision for me, it wouldn't be a hard choice at all ;) After all, who wouldn't want unlimited access to cereal all day?!?! Nevertheless, I'll be making my college decision in the next week or so.....
And then today I spent the day exploring Boston!! I love adventures, and even though going to Boston is not exactly considered traveling, I LOVE TRAVELING. Today just reminded me of how much I can't wait to take all the trips I have been formulating in my head ever since someone told me the world wasn't actually flat, there are hundreds of languages, thousands of different foods, a car to drive, an airplane to be flown, and a boat to be sailed.....a whole other experience....a whole other world out there. An adventure. Well, some of you are probably getting sick of my constant quoting of books and people...but that's just me for you, and don't you worry, I'm not about to change for a blog. =) In the next couple of paragraphs I will be using quotes from the book "Wide Awake" by Erwin Raphael McManus. I won't elaborate on them too much because they describe how I feel exactly...and much more eloquently than I would ever be able to =) If you have yet to read any of his books I highly recommend this one...as well as "Soul Cravings," both are very well written, and on top of all of this, his name is clearly downright awesome!
I would call myself a "future-traveler/explorer". My desire to travel was reaffirmed over and over again today walking around the streets of Boston. You should have tried to wipe the smile off my face today, I was determined to not miss a beat. As much as I love where I have grown up, and would love to live here when I am older.... I think I could pretty much be happy anywhere...... well anywhere with snow anyway. Erwin writes, "Sometimes we think that if we leave everything we know, it's going to get worse from there. But it is possible you'll never find greater contentment or joy or exhilaration until you're willing to give up what you know and what you have for what awaits and exists in the unknown."
"When you are called out by God, you have to take on a learning mode that recognizes you are called by God to explore unknown territories and go to uncertain environments. To some of you God is literally saying, You need to leave your country, your relatives, your house and go to a place you've never known if you are going to live the life of your dreams."
I especially love this one, "That's why when we are children, we have an insatiable curiosity, a need to discover and a drive to explore. It's part of the way God made us. "
"You are created by God to be a pioneer, to explore unknown places and have uncertain experiences because he created and designed you to solve whatever challenges and problems and obstacles you will face in that place. When you live up to your greatness, the whole world is made better. The world cannot afford for you to choose average or easy."
And one that spoke especially to me, "If you're going to create the life of your dreams, eventually you have to stop thinking about it, dreaming about it, imagining it, hoping, scheming, planning, or even praying, and you actually have to do something. You have to act. You have to execute."
Some people ask why I need to go to the Philippines in order to serve, when there are clearly people in my own town and local community in need of help. By going to the Philippines I am not denying the needs of my community; however, what I am doing is acknowledging there are other people suffering besides those who I can physically see and reach out to. I have been involved in volunteer opportunities and outreach programs in my community my entire life as it was and is my parents desire to see both my brother and I out in the community furthering the Kingdom of God and at the same time obtaining "people skills". I still remember sitting in the kitchen with my mom when I was little watching her make hundreds of cupcakes to give to a local outreach here, Kid's Cafe. It was also my parents who encouraged me to become a CIT at Girls Inc. where I spent practically a whole summer, all day every day, serving with the hope of becoming a better servant of God. But there are people suffering in my community formed with Christ that need our help just like those in my physical community. I will be expanding my world view, learning to adapt, experiencing other cultures firsthand, breathing, tasting, and seeing the beauty of God's creation, and as a side note... it's going to be one of my first real adventures. Real in the sense that, with the help of God, I pushed myself to do this on my own. This trip is my way of acting, of executing, and of searching for God's plan for my life. Am I expecting to come back from this trip knowing exactly what God has planned for my life? No, of course not, to me that would be a horrible attempt to limit the power of God, we can't put a schedule together for God and expect him to show up and reveal his plan whenever we set up an appointment. God creates the schedule, not us. And I already know what God has planned for my life. I may not have a "chosen occupation" but I know one thing, God created me to bring glory to Him, and that's what I'm going to do my best to do. And honestly, once you know that, what else matters?? I could be a street performer, like the one I saw in Boston today (hehe, in case any of you are worried about my sanity, don't be, I discovered a long time ago I'm not much of a professional juggler), and still live my life to the absolute fullest bringing glory to God. Essentially it doesn't matter what we do; what really matters is how we do it, and the amount of love we put into it.
Today was a long and fun one filled with little Italian restaurants, small pastry shops, cobblestone streets worn down by the pattern of everyday life in the city, markets, street performers, history, car fumes, friends, and thoughts of the future. Oh! And totally random fun fact of the day! When I purchased my "Charlie Ticket" to catch the T into Boston, I only had a $20 to put into the machine, and guess what it gave me for change?!?! Did you guess?? Well, I received 15 dollar coins, which I of course then proceeded to retrieve with a laugh and carry around Boston for the day. That had absolutely no relevance to my overall story, but I thought it was funny. =)
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