honeymoon's over

i've hit the point...the truth profs & cross-cultural workers have told me about, "there will come a time when all the fun little things start to annoy you! when things aren't so great, happy, & cool anymore." simple things like the rain, riding the bus, grocery shopping, flushing my toilet (you have to jiggle it about 5 times before it will flush), have become mundane, easy, & at times, frustrating. 

i've hit the stage where the reality of my 2 YEAR stay here is becoming more & more visible to me. when i arrived, i was joyful, excited, full of wonder, & ready for all the unknowns. now those thrilling unknowns (&there are still a lot) are becoming stale. they are becoming frustrations instead of wonders to be discovered. 

but as i step into this new phase, i remember the last month with great joy & fondness. i look back on the 4 weeks with a smile. a new place to call home, new people to meet & get to know, & new adventures. i remember how incredibly faithful the Lord has been. how He has provided for me & others. how gracious & merciful He has been as i stumbled. i also remember He is in the mundane. He's in the daily routine of our lives, that's where He meets us. He meets us at those simple things like a sliver of sunshine through a tree branch, a child's laugh, the kindness of a stranger, a good conversation with a friend, a hug from a family member, reading a good book, getting into a warm bed, drinking, eating; in all that we do, God is there. He's right there! 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "so whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." in all that we do, we can & should give glory to the God. listen to this song by Gungor about God being right here with us.

in moving out of the honeymoon stage, i long for it to continue, i reach out to hold on to it as a lifeline. in a sense it will linger as i continue to learn about the place in which i dwell. i will continue to say the wrong word or completely misunderstand someone. i will still have trouble understanding 2 dubs (dubliners) when they speak to one another & i will still find joys in the new little things (hopefully). wanting to cling to this great stage reminds me of the time Jesus spoke of entering the Kingdom as a little child in Matthew 18. He says, "I tell you the truth, unless you change & become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." clare, my housemate, thinks i'm kinda weird for my love & interest in children. i guess i find them interesting because of their curiosity, their truthfulness, & their genuine wonder. they want to discover, to know, to learn. that's the way i was when i arrived (& hope to continue to be). i wanted to know everything, discover new places, meet new people, ask them questions, etc. i am a child in this place, in this culture. how beautiful this picture is of us as children of God in His kingdom. how humbled we are & how curious we should be about His kingdom, His people, & His heart! 

the YMCA where i volunteer

alley near the YMCA

first house dinner & pumpkin carving with my housemates

James Joyce Centre

St. Patrick's Cathedral (beautiful even when it's raining)