11.12.2009

Planes, Trains, Journals, and Memories.

Since early September I have had the rare joy of reminiscing on exact places, thoughts, and feelings that I had at very specific moments in time. Last September I left for a 3 month trip to Europe and said good-bye to my school, my fiance, and friends and family. As my plane took flight, the surreality of my solitary trip enveloped me. I lived in a perpetual state of heightened senses and an acute awareness to the rare beauty of being totally independent and foreign to an area so rich in history and art.
The experience drove me to my writing, so within the week I had purchased a pocket-sized leather notebook that quickly filled with thoughts and feelings and the awe of my experiences.


I have been reading over each entry as I approach their dates, and I am so thankful to have that time capsule to connect to when I miss being there.

Below is an entry from Monday, November 3, 2008. It was our third full day in Copenhagen, Denmark, when we had only planned to be there for one day. Clogged train systems and a mistake on our part delayed us from going to Stockholm and on to the rest of our ten day trip.
"Most unfortunate happenstance. We are stuck in Copenhagen for another full day. We leave tonight for Stockholm, but a misunderstanding with the ticket master made us miss the fact that our train left from another station. We arrived at the right time at the wrong station! Our new reservations will take us away from Copenhagen at 6 this evening and will get us to Stockholm at 11pm. Because we made reservations for a train from Stockholm to Oslo tomorrow morning, we won't be able to spend any time in Stockholm. We won't even get to see it in daylight, which is really disappointing. Oh well, right? I'm sure there's more to your side of the story, ABBA, then our simple mistakes [...]I just think that sometimes, missing trains is a way of God sending us down a different track, for the better journey and the better destination."

And how true that has been for my life since I wrote that a year ago? All plans are tentative. There are a million places I could go, but my ultimate plan is to: 

1) Pursue the dreams He has placed on my heart, because I know from experience I will be blessed beyond my wildest imagination. 

2) Enjoy the journey. I'll be hopping on and hopping off trains my whole life, and who knows where they will take me and where I will end up, but I'll be glad that I spent time in each place, thankful for what I learned there.


3) Write everything down, for the future me, the one that is unsure of what to do next and is worried about what the future holds. To remember that God is guiding my course.

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