Counting down…
I looked at my calendar this morning and counted 22 days until the 17th of May. The 17th of May is a very big day. On the 17th of May, I will wake up and get my eager self and my likely stuffed suitcases to the Dublin airport for one last flight. On the 17th of May, I fly back over the Atlantic Ocean to the oh-so-familiar comfort of my country, my state, my town, my house, my friends, my family…MY HOME!
I have only three weeks left in this crazy city. I have exams to study for, packing to think about, places to go and people to see… When I get home on the 17thof May, my Ireland adventure will be finished. Never again will I live and study in Dublin. I know that it will feel so good to be back on the ground that I’ve missed over the past four months. It will be strange to leave this place, but I’m so looking forward to being able to remember it. I’m realizing that one of my favorite things about seeing new places, meeting new people, and experiencing new things is getting to look back on them withfond memories…remembering how it felt to be there, how they looked, how fun that was, how yummy that tasted, how hard I laughed that night withthose people in that wonderful place! Even if I never get the chance to come back and visit or to share Ireland with family and friends, I get to remember it all on my own. I have the priviledge of carrying new memories from Dublin, Gorey, Galway, Cork, Belfast, Liverpool, London, Berlin, Milan, and Rome with me wherever I go. I have new faces to reminisce on, new stories to tell, new memories to recall and laugh about, new pictures to share and gifts to give.
WHAT A BLESSING TO EXPERIENCE THE NEW AND WONDERFUL THINGS THAT I HAVE ENCOUNTERED IN THIS MAGNIFICENT PLACE!
Ireland has made its mark on me. There is no doubt about that. And I’m incredibly eager to see how my experience abroad will manifest itself in the days, weeks, months, and years to come. I know I have grown. The Lord has worked in me this semester. He has challenged me, blessed me, and walked with me each day.
What’s next I wonder? I don’t know if I’m ready. But I do know that the Lord will be my protector, my provider, and my constant companion through each leg of the journey that awaits me!
