I'm Getting Out of Here

Since I have to leave the country periodically because of my visa, I am getting out of here for a week. I'll be traveling to Romania with the family of one of the guys here. I think it will be a good and necessary break. It might also be a break from this blog. I will update it if I can. I'll be back on the 20th with pictures and stories of the trip.

To be honest, I need this break. The last few weeks have been really tough emotionally, spiritually and physically. By nature I am an optimist. Most of the time I'll try to leave out the hard things or the bad things or the struggles and present you with a little more serene of a picture. Let me say it simply.

This is hard.

It's hard for a number of reasons. Obviously, there is the language barrier, the different culture, less contact with family and friends, the lack of authentic Mexican food/slurpees and all of the other stresses that come with any kind of move. You deal with "home-sickness" quite a bit. (Home-sickness, I feel, is a stupid way to phrase that. It makes it sound as if home is what is making you sick. I am away-from-home-sick. )

It is also hard because of the constant testing I am going through. The guys are always trying to see what my limits are. They are trying to see where I'll bend, trying to see what they can get away with and trying to see if I'm for real. A lot of time is spent playing mental chess with them as opposed to actual chess with the back-to-back-to-back Moldovan junior chess champion (wink, wink). Some days are awesome. And some days are not so awesome (like the day I "tossed" a screwdriver at, I mean, to Artur).

It should be hard though. Why would it be easy?

The hardships, the solitude and all of the struggles are all a part of walking with God. I look at the Bible and lives were rarely easy. Paul, perhaps more than any man in the Bible, knew about hardships. He was beaten, shipwrecked, left for dead and put in jail constantly. But he learned to be content in all circumstances. There was joy in the midst of those things.

There is joy in the midst of the hardships here. Sometimes that joy is a little hard to find. Some days it surprises me. No matter what happens to me, what I go through or what I endure, it will never be able to remove my joy. My joy comes from the Lord. It does not come from my circumstances. Things are hard here, yes. But "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Those are the words of Paul in Romans 8.

I would also consider that our present joys are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us. They are just an appetizer, a foretaste of what God has prepared in eternity for his adopted children. It is our future grace. It is a living hope, found in Christ alone, of that day when all the groanings of this world are comforted and transformed into praise.

Hope is a beautiful thing.

[I've been thinking of occasionally writing some papers or essays to put on this blog. They will be titled "On ______" with the underlined part being whatever the essay is on. Here is the short list of things I've been thinking about: double substitution, future and realized grace, prayer groaning, community, fallen illusions, and solitude. They are all theological in nature (I did study Religion in college). If you have any requests or suggestions, please feel free to give them to me twbedi@samford.edu. They don't have to be theological. I could write them about cereal if you like. Or you can just comment a question. If you are curious about something here, just let me know. I don't really enjoy this thing all that much. It is for you. So let me know how I can improve it.]