Ever since I decided to do a Gap year, I have wrestled with the question of how to communicate with everyone at home and how to keep those who are interested up-to-date with my life. And I gotta say that the idea of the blog has never really sounded that great to me. I guess that I have always associated it with people who have a lot of time on their hands and a plethora of mundane information to share. However, I am quickly coming to see- not only with this issue, but also many other more important things- that my stereotyping is often inaccurate and causing me to miss out on beneficial things. The point being that I have decided to try blogging and attempt to share worthwhile things. We'll see how it goes.
I am realizing that a good place to start might be at the beginning, though it's difficult to pinpoint because everything always seems to have a backstory. However, I think that mine may originate when I started thinking about what I wanted to do after high school. In contemplating this decision, I felt overwhelmingly that I have really spent all of my eighteen years of life focusing on myself. In my education, sports, activities, and friends I have always focused on what would be best for myself. Though most of this has been a necessary part of growing up, it has also been a little selfish. I feel like if there is a time to focus on others and give back after all that I have been given, now is that ideal time. I don't have the pressure of a new degree and open career door weighing on me and my university studies can wait for a year. I also, however, have really felt a tugging on my heart to do this work, to fight this battle.
As I look around me, I see so many people who are searching for meaning in their lives. They are turning to innumerable material things to satisfy the longing in their hearts to be known completely and unconditionally loved. Yet how can these perishable, worldly things bring lasting truth into our lives? In observing others' searching and knowing the results of my own, I have come to the realization that nothing on this earth can fill that void. Ultimately, only God can fill the longing in all of our souls. I have also experienced the call to share this, the light of Christ, with those around me. I think that this question of our identity and where we find our worth is really the battle that my generation is facing. The call that I have experienced is to fight this battle for Christ, to witness to the truth and love that He desires to share with us.
As I step back and read over what I have written, I realize that explaining this still doesn't explain why I ended up here in Belgium. The only answer that I can come up with for this is that I have inherited my dad's sense of adventure and have developed my own travel bug. Well, actually, that is only a small part of it. I really researched many different service opportunities and looked into many different programs, but ultimately felt like the GAP program would be the best fit for me. The mission of the program and the work that we are doing were inline with what I was looking to be a part of. Also, the training that I would receive, both practically and in my faith formation, was appealing to me.
So, the decision came down to where I would serve, because the GAP program sends missionaries all over the world. I really wanted to experience another culture and step outside of my comfort zone, so I began looking at the European options. It was at this point in my search that the GAP director in Belgium contacted me and asked me to be a part of the new work that was just starting in Leuven, Belgium. After thinking and praying about it for a little while, I agreed to join the team and six months later, here I am, starting a new chapter of my life here in Belgium. Whatever the Lord has in store for me this year, I know that it will be an adventure, but a good adventure because He is at the helm.
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