I know I know, it comes a bit late.. but I really hope you had a wonderful Christmas wherever you were. I had my first Christmas here in Brazil. It was really different - I ate dinner at the house of a friend of mine from the city with all her family. Brazilians only celebrate Christmas the 24th in the evening - the 25th is just another day. We had a really big dinner with good food and good people - I really appreciate the warm hospitality of Brazilian people to open up their home to anyone.
my housemate and I enjoying some Christmas decor in the mall
It's hard to believe that we're already into 2011. I love how the coming of a new year is a time for new things, and even though it's semi-lame to decidate one day out of the year to make yourself a better person, I appreciate the fact that it's socially acceptable and encouraged to do so. Therefore, I also take part in this silly ritual of promising myself to enter into this new year with every intention of fulfilling my resolutions. I don't really have any quite yet.. but I feel motivated to make the most of every day that is to come.
At the beginning of each year, I always try to take some time to ponder and reflect and then predict and resolute for the coming year. When I reflect on 2010, there are things I am proud of, and things I wish I had done differently. Something that keeps coming to mind, is perspective. To be honest, lately it feels like I have lost perspective. And I realize that when you lose perspective, you lose motivation and purpose itself to continue on with what you are doing.
Perspective is the only thing that makes sense. If I look at what I'm doing here in Brazil, reason begs for an answer; why are you here? Why are you sitting in a office all day and not getting your hands dirty? And occassionally logic creeps in for his two-cents.. you know.. you could do exactly this somewhere else and get paid for it..
But through the eyes of perspective, it all seems to add up. Because perspective doesn't rely on logic to make sense of itself. Sometimes the place God has us seems insignificant or maybe even useless when we look at the trajectory of our life and where we want to end up, but the thing about life I have learned is that it is made up of steps and processes. Even when we "get to where we want to be" there will STILL be things we need to learn, and that don't make sense at the place we are. We never really "arrive" in life; we are continually arriving - at new places, with new people, and with new things to learn. The key is allowing God to use and teach you in the place you are at, even when reason and logic tell you there is somewhere else you could be.
This is what I am learning now. To use the gifts I have to help others, and to remember that I am exactly in the place God wants me. The word that comes to mind for 2011 is JOY. To BE in the place God has me, not just surviving day to day, but with joy - life is full of surprises and challenges but we can face them all knowing that there is One who goes before and with us. We cannot change circumstances but we can always change our perspectives. And knowing this, we can face the new year being joyful for all that was and all that is to come.
Happy 2011!
1 comments:
Nice to hear from you again. Love you lots!
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