Half my adult life...

I left the US six years ago today, and other than short stints at home, I've been living abroad since then. Each year on the anniversary of the date I left home, I like to reflect on the past year and look forward to the next.

This year has been even more full of change for me than usual.  It's been a year of answered prayer, of seeing God respond in ways that were beyond my expectations.  It's been a year of movement after a time of preparation.  Last July I was in my 2nd semester of my master's degree in Germany.  I was stressed about my thesis and trying to figure out exactly what my focus would be and how I would conduct my research.  I was worried about the future, wondering if I would find a job I enjoyed in a place I wanted to live.  I was lonely and wishing for someone to share my life with.

Now, I'm graduated, one masters degree to my name (another in the works) and a published author (granted, the paper I published is in an obscure Romanian journal and you'd be hard put to find it).

I applied for my dream job and moved to Guatemala to start it.  I'm settling in to a rhythm here, learning my way around, getting to know my coworkers, and starting to see how I fit in to the team and what I can contribute.

And, most unexpected of all, I found love when I had given up on it for that stage in my life. Granted, a long-distance relationship with a 9 hour time zone difference is not the sort of thing most people intentionally strive for and wasn't at all what I was planning on. But I am enjoying the butterflies, the long conversations, the connection that comes with sharing your life with someone even across the distance, and the still cautious but growing hope of sharing our future together.

I'm looking forward to the next year.  I'm expecting it to be one of establishment.  I hope by this time next year to be completely comfortable in my job, to feel like I'm contributing and like my presence has made a positive difference.  I hope that Cristian and I will be a stronger couple, will know where our futures are headed, and that we won't be long distance anymore.

But even with the unknowns in my future, and the discomfort that uncertainty can bring, there's one thing I do know- I can trust the one who's brought me to this point to never let me go and to keep leading me.