Well I have arrived back on American soil, and I am not quite sure how I feel about it yet. As, i roamed around the house thinking of what to do, I realized that I wanted some ice cream. While in Guatemala, I had some form of ice cream once a day (this is probably where my 5-10 pounds of extra weight came from. While I said I would not eat at McDonald's until next time I return to Guatemala, I found myself wanting to drive through to get a McCono dipped in chocolate...I decided to settle on a sugar free fudge bar that I stumbled upon in Mema and Bo's freezer. I also had my first apple with Nutella today. They had Nutella in Guatemala, but it cost more than $7 per jar. I decided that I could do without Nutella for the month and opted to settle for Hazella, which is the Guatemalan version of Nutella. Needless to say, it did not taste the same, and I forgot just how delightful Nutella was until my treat today! As I roamed around the house, I thought to myself: Self, I miss Guatemala. There were things that I vowed not to do for a very long time. These things included eating at McDonald's, taking a cold shower, sleeping with the windows open and fans on, and living out of a suitcase. What I found out upon my arrival home was that I wanted to do each of these things, and I even found myself doing some of them. When I arrived back in the states, we made a two hour trip to Tyler to visit Melanie at camp and have dinner with my grandparents. We came back to Dallas and I have been staying at my other grandparent's house the past two days. When we arrived at their house, there was no air conditioning. One thing that I did not miss while I was in Guatemala was the hot Texas summers. We were spoiled with 60 to 70 degree weather (it is currently their winter and rainy season so it was cool) and there was not a necessity for air conditioning. When it is 90 to 100 degree weather, there is most definitely a need for air in a house. Luckily, a storm blew through Dallas and the house cooled off a little bit, but it was still hot. So again, I found myself sleeping with the fan and windows open. I also found myself taking a cold shower at 11 at night to try to cool off and wash all the airplane grime off of me from the long day of travels. I thought that I would never say this, but it was quite refreshing and comforting. It reminded me a little bit of the place I had called home the past month.
Today I have arrived in McKinney, Texas and I will be living here the entire week. I am in a wedding this coming Saturday and instead of traveling three hours to Georgetown and three hours back in two days, I decided to stay here and rest. And rest I will. This place is like a second home to me. I lived here for a summer and the family that I lived with is nice enough to let me come back anytime I want. I find this place very peaceful. It is in the country, with a wrap around porch, and rocking chairs. This is the perfect place to relax and reflect on my past month and prepare my heart for my future and returning home to "the real world."
This is my life back in America so far. I am safely back home, but there is a weird feeling in my soul. It is a wierd feeling because I miss Guatemala so much more than I thought possible, but I am also loving being back near familiar faces and familiar territory. Even though living out of a suitcase can be unorganized and sporatic, I am still enjoying it. It is sort of a liberating feeling and a feeling that I have learned to appreciate. I was talking to my grandma this morning and she was asking my plans for this week. I gently said: "I don't have any. I am a free spirit." She laughed and agreed with me. For those of you that know me, you would laugh at this as well because a free spirit is not a term that is generally used to describe me, but over the past month the Lord has been teaching me flexibility and how to delight in the stillness and quietness of Him, His timing, and plans for my life. This has been one of the most liberating experiences. While I may not be a free spirit, I am letting the Spirit teach me how to trust Him and enjoy life. I know that one day God will show me what his plans are for me in His timing, but for now, I am going to just enjoy living out of my suitcase and continue to the Spirit set me free! Until next time...be blessed!
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