Another Stake Along the Journey

Hi! {me, throwing arms around you to embrace you! My! It's been a long time!!}

You can't possibly know how very much I'd love to pull up a chair across from you, lean in, and hear every. single. detail of what's gone on in your world since the last time we hung out.

It's a weird moment when I'm out and about and I see someone who looks like you. But I love it. Here I am, half way around the world and suddenly I find myself reminiscing about you, our friendship. Something you said that made me laugh. A question you asked me that challenged my paradigm... or a story you shared that changed my worldview and improved my perspective.

What's that you say? Ah! You're curious about what's happening in my little corner of the world?

Well... since you asked...

I have a conundrum. You see, last night LeRoy took me to a movie. (Side note: Just the two of us!! Sans sweet kiddos!! Woohoo!) And you know how every once in a while, you see a movie or read a book and it shakes you to the very core of who you are? Well, that's what happened last night.

Here's the thing, it was yet another stake in a very long journey. A journey that isn't new, but instead one I've traveled for a long, long time now. It's this passion for words. For communication. For sharing ideas and battling injustices in the world. I came home rattled. Okay, actually, that's an understatement. To use a cliche... my heart was racing.

And that brings me to my conundrum. I live in two worlds.

Perhaps you relate. The immense gratitude that we live these amazing days with all the resources necessary for a fulfilling, abundant lifestyle. And... the knowledge that living a truly fulfilling and meaningful life means giving it all away. That I am blessed with health, life experiences, education, dreams and passion... and a voice.

So that I can be a voice for those in the world who don't have a voice.

Which is where the two worlds... collide? Nah. Maybe connect? No, they don't really, do they? Or, maybe they do. What do you think?

Here we are, living the American Dream in Europe. Our days are exotic. Hurdling over language barriers, strolling -- or driving -- down cobblestone streets, dining in cafes in which the stone at the entryway says it was established in 1062.

But the vision that "keeps me up at night and gets me out of bed in the morning" is knowing about the metaphorical "natural disaster in the next town over." That the neighbor is wounded and bleeding. That I have resources to give away. That the abundant life is found in standing in the gap. That it's not in the being served but in the serving where joy irrepressible bubbles up and over the edges.

What about you? What do you think? What "keeps you up at night and gets you out of bed in the morning?" What movie or book have you read recently or in the past that ignited the fire in you?

I'd love to hear from you in the comments section below or you can email me.


PS - The day-to-day "newsy" part of our lives: I'm in the throes of building a website, restructuring my writing life, and setting ambitious goals for homeschool, travel, and getting to know the community we live in. We signed a contract to rent a house this last week and move-in day is scheduled for November 17th. We'll keep you posted.