Simple Pleasures

Earlier this evening, I was lying in my hammock, watching the sunset, and it occurred to me: God gave me such an awesome life.  Here I am, at the beginning of what could potentially be a very stressful time for me in planning my trip home, and through the grace of God, I'm calm.  I can enjoy this beautiful day the Lord has given me.  It wasn't so long ago, that wasn't the case.  It's taken me a long time to get adjusted to this new way of life.  I'm not just talking about living in a completely and thoroughly different culture, although I still find myself adjusting to that.  I'm talking about a life that did not include unmanageable amounts of stress and confusion each and every hour I was awake.  I used to thrive on drama and stress; now I really don't want any part of it.  I've lost some people in my life because I didn't want to deal with the constant drama.  However, I've also gained some pretty awesome people, too.  People who thrive not on drama, but serenity and peace.  Don't get me wrong; there are still times when my inner drama queen rears her annoying self, especially when there are constant stressors that trigger her appearance.  However, thankfully, those times are fewer and farther between (although these past few months have been a beaut and a half.  But, by God, I'm still standing).

I never, ever tire of the amazing love, grace and mercy of God.  He never ceases to amaze me in His love for  all of us.  Even in the sick and dying, He is able to give them joy, love and comfort.  Someone once told me that peace is always present, and can be found in any situation.  Sometimes it can be harder to find than others, but it is always there.  Sometimes, like in my living situation, you need to be proactive.  God was patiently waiting to give me everything I could ever want in a living situation in Kenya; however, I had to first be willing to want it for myself, too.  I had to love myself enough to believe that I deserved to live in an environment that is clean, safe, beautiful and quiet.  Once I let go and accepted that fact, everything else seemed to fall in place pretty quickly. Roughly two days after I started looking, I found the house of my dreams in the lower end of my price range, in a beautiful, quiet location.  Amazing.  The healing power of letting go.