An Open Letter To My Friends

I want to say thank you for your unceasing support and excitement for making the choice to go on “exciting adventures” which often includes leaving you behind.

 

But, I would not be writing this, if that is all I had to say. 

I want to say that this season of new experiences may not be what you are expecting or are imagining. It is not some star-dusted, lime light, motion picture worthy, high stakes adventure; or is it a time of grueling, dusty, tear jerking, heartbreaking story. I am just living life. While I have stories that could fall under either category, I believe the majority are adventures and stories called “everyday life”. I wake up in my own bed every morning. I speak broken Spanish and point a lot just to order lunch. I cook eggs and bacon because that is all I know how to make. I hike mountains on the weekend. I sip coffee in shops all afternoon. I can see an ancient cathedral out my bedroom window. I go to the store to buy toilet paper and laundry detergent. I meet people from all over the world. I jam and dance to TSwift and HSM. I am living life here in Spain all the same. Soon, I too, will be living back in northwest Iowa, land of churches and cornfields. Truth be told, I will take many of the same “adventures” there as I do here.

You are living an adventurous life right now also.

It is neither the view out the window, nor the language that flows through the streets that classify an adventure. Rather, it is the spirit, the mindset, of the adventurer. God called me to Spain for this season, for apparent reasons and many yet to be discovered. God called you to live summer wherever you are, too. For when Jesus commanded us to go, he meant it as an everyday adventure of engaging in the world waiting outside our doors.

I realize how fortunate (#blessed) I am to have been given this ability to travel, to learn from the world, and go on unique adventures. It is a season of new and exciting times for all of us. So do not be envious of me, of the pictures on the screen in front of you, and I will (try) not be envious of your pictures of campfires, vacations, and adventures without me. Go wherever your feet take you. Do what you love to do. Live out side the door. The adventure, called life, awaits us both.

much love,

your friend.