simply me

     On the Friday before Christmas last year I was excitedly and slightly anxiously awaiting Roby’s arrival at Philadelphia Airport w here we would meet again for the first time in nearly two and a half years. Last Friday I s a t awaiting my parents arrival at Melbourne airport where I collected them about 4 months after moving to Victoria .    When my parents arrived at my home in Victoria      In the time between those two events I have become engaged , applied for a visa, finished my first school year as a full time teacher , turned another year older, become an aunt, k ayaked on the Mississippi River, f ished for salmon on Lake Ontario , moved to Australia, celebrated 2 years with Roby , visited New Zealand, planned a wedding, and so many more big and little things in amongst those! Looking back on this list , knowing the complexity o f many of these things, it’s easy to wonder, “ H ow on earth was all this accomplished?” I’ve...

Teary and drawn-out goodbyes have sprinkled my last 3-4 months; excitement and sadness melded together in my heart. I'm finally headed back to Australia!   Am I just dreaming... or is this real life? The last time I was in that beloved country was 2019. I had made up my mind to return in less than 2 years and was busy plotting my course of action when covid-19 arrived on shore. You know what happens next... the world shut down. What a surreal time it has been. You know it. I know it. We don't really need to keep harping on those facts, right?  What I find intriguing about this process of living in a pandemic-stricken world is that, though many plans have been cancelled and postponed, my plans were never guaranteed to come to pass in the first place! It was a stark reminder that I really have control over nothing  yet God does and his ways are mysterious ! In their hearts humans plan their course,      but the  Lord  establishes their steps - ...