Merry Christmas and Transitions

3 months. Today marks 3 months since the day that I returned to the US. It marks almost 3 months of living in Florida--a state I thought I'd never live in. It feels like the past 3 months have been such a short time, and forever.

Especially when I first moved back, I got a lot of questions about how my transition was going. To be honest, some days I feel really settled and some days I feel like I live in this weird "other" world. Almost as if I'm not me or the life I'm living is just a dream...it's surreal. I both have a plan for what I'm doing and have no plan and take life one day at a time. I don't know how to describe it. I guess I feel like I am creating my life and who I am all over again.

A lot of what I post on facebook I try to keep positive and that's for two reasons--one, because I really am generally happy. But two, the reason I am genuinely happy is because that is one of many conscious decisions I made when I moved back to the US. You see, happiness is a choice. The feeling comes about as a result of choosing to think happy thoughts and then once the feelings come you are more likely to find happy things to think about (there's actually science out there that confirms this, by the way. It's not just my anecdotal evidence). One word that describes my life philosophy upon returning is to be intentional--intentional about happiness, and intentional on relationships.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 

It is Christmas Day and it marks 3 months since I left people I love to go and find more people to love. It hasn't been easy--in fact, the picture below speaks to how I felt moving forward for awhile.

Driving into the darkness, followed by the dawn.

It felt as if I was going forward into darkness and leaving the light behind. But darkness doesn't last forever. Eventually we move past dawn into the new day when we are surrounded by light. And sometimes being surrounded by light means we need to start looking for it--start looking for that which brightens our day and lightens our load.  Our memories and our past can help us, but if we look to that too often, we will end up crashing and missing the beauty in front of us.

Friends--there is beauty in front of us and around us if we choose to look for it. It may not be in our circumstances, but rather in the truth that we must preach to ourselves (and I mean the truth in that God is sovereign and all of creation's story points to the redemption plan that He has.)

Has the transition been easy--eh, mas o menos. Each day brings it's own beauty and it's own challenges. However, I choose to approach each day with intentionality--to see God in the day and in my life and appreciate the blessings He has surrounded me with. We are about to head into a new year and a new decade (2020). We are all in a time of transition.

For me, I choose to be intentional. What are you going to do this next year?

P.S.--Merry Christmas from me to you!