Where does the time go?
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It is really hard to believe... but Dee and I just celebrated our fifth anniversary of living in Ireland. We moved here back in May of 2003. Wow... I can't believe it has been that long! I look back over the past few years and can't believe the changes that we have seen both here and in ourselves. I have to be honest and say that there were times in the beginning that I did not think that we were going to last very long here. It was so hard moving away from family, friends, and everything that we knew. I will never forget how cold and wet it was during our first week here........ and I remember feeling so overwhelmed with the changes and feelings of isolation as we tried to settle in. There were times that it was very hard and very lonely... and the whole process was far harder than I would have ever imagined. Thankfully, we have settled here. Thankfully, we have made a home here and have friends that we can rely on. Dee and I really have fallen in love with this place and the community where we live. I have said it many times, but I really feel as if my life is a pilgrimage. And as I look back over the past five years I can see that I have been challenged in ways I would have never imagined, and I have (hopefully) grown and changed. I feel that this journey has deepened my faith... my trust... and my love for Dee and the people around me. I pray that as we continue this journey I will become more patient... be more trusting... see better the beauty that is all around me... learn to worship in spirit and truth... and know what it really means to live by faith.
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It is really hard to believe... but Dee and I just celebrated our fifth anniversary of living in Ireland. We moved here back in May of 2003. Wow... I can't believe it has been that long! I look back over the past few years and can't believe the changes that we have seen both here and in ourselves. I have to be honest and say that there were times in the beginning that I did not think that we were going to last very long here. It was so hard moving away from family, friends, and everything that we knew. I will never forget how cold and wet it was during our first week here........ and I remember feeling so overwhelmed with the changes and feelings of isolation as we tried to settle in. There were times that it was very hard and very lonely... and the whole process was far harder than I would have ever imagined. Thankfully, we have settled here. Thankfully, we have made a home here and have friends that we can rely on. Dee and I really have fallen in love with this place and the community where we live. I have said it many times, but I really feel as if my life is a pilgrimage. And as I look back over the past five years I can see that I have been challenged in ways I would have never imagined, and I have (hopefully) grown and changed. I feel that this journey has deepened my faith... my trust... and my love for Dee and the people around me. I pray that as we continue this journey I will become more patient... be more trusting... see better the beauty that is all around me... learn to worship in spirit and truth... and know what it really means to live by faith.
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