When You Can Feel the 8,439 Miles

I love my life.
I love my ship family.
I love sunsets and moonrises on deck 8.
I love Sebastian at Baby Crèche.
I love visiting the wards.
I love dinner on the beach.
I love trips to the market.
I love that even though it all feels normal, every day is part of a beautiful adventure.
I love, LOVE, my life.

But the last week I’ve been homesick.
As big and wonderful as my ship family is here sometimes you just want a hug from your dad and mom. As good as the food is the cooks prepare for us, sometimes you miss fish tacos and chicken pad Thai. As amazing as my friends are here sometimes you miss the ones back home just a little bit more than normal.

        

Sometimes babysitting makes you miss your nephews and nieces just a little bit more.

  

Planning a bridal shower for a beautiful new friend makes you ache knowing you are missing out on a best friend’s back home.

Sometimes what you’ve given up to live the adventure weighs heavy on your heart. And sometimes you just need to cry it out. The reality is I can’t just drive home for a weekend of family dinners, a night at JJ Mahoney’s and brunch at Hector’s. The reality is that I’m learning how to balance the unexpected weight of homesickness and the beauty of my calling.

There’s no formula, just trial and error. But one thing I do know, one thing I hold fast to, is the knowledge that the God who knew me in Seattle is the same God who knows me in Pointe-Noire. That though my heart may long for my other home today, He is faithful to comfort me and to faithful to encourage me. I also know I live in an amazing community with an amazing ship family and that I am truly blessed daily by the people I am privileged to serve alongside of.

 

I know the homesickness won’t last and tomorrow holds something new but tonight this Seattle girl misses the smell of cold rain, marionberry jam, Mac and Jack’s, and the faces and the laughs of the ones I love. To all my Seattle loves…

I heart you all like crazy!