i like my valley.

where the clouds paint the mountains purple, where narnia is my backyard + the coffee shops play ed sheeran.
where i paint peeling wood white... which turns my hair turns white before its time.
where nowhere is safe from people you know, where everyone knows your face, or at least they should.
where everyone has a cousin who has a friend, who knows yours.  and everyones happy about it.
where it starts to really get hot when logically it should be cooling down, when the little hand touches three + the sun starts to really burn your skin.
where farmer tans are strong but peoples ties to their gardens are stronger.
where the places rarely change, but the people do.

coming back i see just how much i've changed.  i knew it, mentally, logically, physically i felt it.  but only now, being back on the roads i walked + standing next to the building that once felt so tall, do i really feel it.

i'm different.  i've changed.
my eyes are opened to the world beyond, i've seen, smelt + felt so much.  and i'm learning how to not just come back, but to come back well.

to not be a steam roller of opinions + convictions developed over years of learning.  but how to take advantage of the opportunities He brings for me to share what He's taught me. 

i'm learning how to stretch + grow at the rate He has for me.  and knowing that my story is different than others, but it's just right for me.  even when it seems crazy, crunched and wacky to others.

i'm learning how to learn... again.
i'm re-learning culture in some ways that i hadn't realized i had lost it.

 and i'm looking forward to starting the next learning curve that is bible school.  i'm gonna have teachers that aren't my mom (perks of being homeschooled), i'm gonna have roommates that aren't my siblings, and i'm going to learn how to live on a continent half-way around the world from where my family is. 

and it's gonna be good + hard.
it's gonna stretch + pull me in ways that living in burkina never did.
it's gonna open new opportunities for me to grow + it's gonna demand that i lean further into the Lord than i've ever had to.

and as i stand here on another "ledge" of life, looking into the next section ahead of me i feel inadequately ready.  knowing that i will need to fully rely on the Lord, as well as the lessons that He has already taught me + the gifts that He has given me, some of which i'm sure i don't yet know. 

but He does, He's got this.