A lesson to be learning

I don't know about you, but I feel like God has been wanting me to learn an important lesson as of late and it's a theme that keeps repeating itself.  To be completely honest and transparent, being a single woman approaching her thirties and living in a new country and culture is not easy.  Sometimes I wonder "where is he, that husband I've been praying and hoping for?"  I know I am not alone in this thought and desire of my heart, and it's affirming and encouraging for me to hear other women share their hearts.  One of my friends recommended a blog to me this week, and while I don't agree with everything the writer has to say, there are some profound points that she makes.  She's mainly talking about the idea of "waiting" for your future husband and how that some of us Christian women as young girls were given the advice to “be the woman God made you to be, focus on that, and then the husband will come.”  And she goes on to say, what does that mean for those of us who ARE living for God but don't have a husband yet?  Does that mean that I've not been relying on God enough and am not being satisfied in Him?  She continues by saying "What if we as girls had learned early on that having Him was everything, not a means to the life we think He would want us to have." 
This is very interesting to me because I do feel like sometimes I've been told that I just need to keep "waiting" for the right one to come and that he's "just around the corner" or that "maybe you'll meet him in Costa Rica."  I think that this is the wrong perspective, and I think that is what the author of the blog is trying to say.  (For the rest of her blog, go here to read http://gracefortheroad.com/2012/02/03/idontwait/)

The same week I was told about a radio program from Focus on the Family that was addressing the single Christian adult who wants to be dating and/or married, and to be honest, at first I kind of rolled my eyes and was reluctant to hear what they had to say.  But I gave it a shot, and it also had some impacting ideas such as the following: "God designed people to be happy before they were married.  We’re supposed to be living the fruits of the spirit, used unto Him, living righteously, etc.  When people aren’t doing that, it’s sorta like “I’m a half person, looking for the other half person to create a whole person.”  There’s nothing more destructive than this because you’re gonna create a quarter of a person.  But if you have a whole person who’s got great friends, family, job, faith, etc. and meet another one like that, it’s not like “ok, now I can be whole,” but more like “I’ve got a pretty good life, and you do too...let’s make something better together.”  Takes away that dependency, you are getting married because of similar values and interests rather than “I need you to be whole.”  So many people are waiting to get married as if life’s going to start there but it’s exactly the opposite.  Happy singles make happily married people, unhappy singles make uphappily married people because they take it right in there." 
The same idea about finding your contentment in Christ rather than thinking that I need to keep "waiting" for my life to start or feel like there's "something missing" because I am single.

Finally, the Lord spoke to me through Isaiah 26 this week where He says "Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desires of our hearts.  My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you."  What a different perspective than this idea of "I'm 29 and single and where is my husband God?!"  I am to be fulfilled in Him, I AM complete in Him, and to wait for Him.  All things that I know, but sometimes it needs to be retold and reminded to me, again and again. 

A pleasant turn of events...

Since my last blog post there have been quite a few exciting things happen here in my world!  First of all, I am thrilled to say that my journey to buy a used car has come to an end and I am officially a car owner!  I am so blessed that in my fundraising before moving here I was able to raise the amount needed to buy a decent, used car.  My boss and I have poured over several different websites that feature cars for sale, visited some friendly and some a sort of shady people interested in selling their cars, and finally found a great deal at a Suzuki dealer nearby.  My new wheels is a 98 Suzuki Sidekick and it has been pretty enjoyable so far!  It is a manual, which I was opposed to for a long time until I had to drive my friend Cailah's car (a manual) the other day and realized, "hey, my brain, feet and arm seem to remember how to do this and it's kind of fun!" so I changed my mind regarding the ban on manuals.  Here's me in my car, accompanied by Jeff and Tracey's blond crew of kiddos:

Another exciting change has been the addition of two new interns to our staff.  Both are close to my age and both are wonderful, energetic young women.  We have enjoyed the gym, farmer's market, artisan market, Asian food and karaoke, and are looking forward to taking my Sidekick to the beach in the new future.  It was really fun to have them at our most recent "SI Family Dinner" that we had last weekend.  Our theme was "Sombreros," thus the reason a number of us are wearing hats in the pictures.  We had hot dogs with all the fixings and a Tico version of smores.  Yummy!

Karissa, me, Cailah and Emily

The goofy guys that I work with

Roasting marshmallows!!

My new gym buddy and friend, Karissa

 I posted about English class recently and that has continued to go well!  The guys in the class are starting to joke around with me, which I take as a sign that they like me and having me as their "Profe."  Recently we made pancakes as we talked about ingredients, cooking terms and utensils.  

They ate the pancakes up real quick

Glad to put my ELD and good teaching methods to practice! :)

 

 

The weather has been a lot more enjoyable lately, as in, cooler and less sticky.  We have such beautiful views from my neighborhood and I can't resist adding a pic out my window this evening: