Another year of documenting

Sometimes I wonder why I keep up this little blog.  I am not very good at keeping it up in real time.  Life is too busy and full already to be more active on here.  I guess the answer is that I feel pulled to documenting.  Sometimes I have something to say with words and sometimes just photos.  I think for me, photography is a way to show a life beautifully lived.  Maybe just intentionally lived, because sometimes I don't live life as beautifully as I ought.  Either way, I do try to live it intentionally.  I'm rarely physically seen in the photos I take but it can't be denied that who I am and how I see life around me is displayed in every photo I take.  So, anyway, here we go with another year of documenting.  

Big things will happen this year.  I'm hesitantly here for it.  I want to be wholeheartedly here for it but I'm not ready for that yet.  Give me time.  I'll work into it.  

As I said my prayers the other night all I could focus on was a flashing scene that popped into my head of us looking back into our apartment one last time before we locked up the door and pressed the button of the elevator that would take us out of our little building to our tiny silver van, named Foxy Voxy, where we'd drive away forever from this experience of living in Japan.  Tears came to my eyes and I laid in bed next to Mike and said, "I'm so grateful He's gotten us to this place."  

He has gotten us to a place of utter appreciation for our time spent here.  A place of sadness to say goodbye.  A place of satisfaction that we gave this experience all we had.  He gave us confidence and courage.  He showed us how to laugh at our mistakes (I call them typical Adrianne in Japan experiences).  I've never seen myself quite so clearly in all my strengths and weaknesses as I have here in Japan.  He moved us through unfamiliarity to a place of stability and adjustment.  He let me see that I'm allowed to change my mind.  I'm allowed to cry and wonder how I'll ever make it through three years of living somewhere so unfamiliar and then cry and wonder how I grew to love it so much.  

We wrote down Japan as an option--our fourth or fifth option.  I knew if we put it down God would send us here.  I knew when we put it down that we were accepting His invitation.  It was our choice to come or not, but honestly, the only choice was to follow His invitation to come.  I'm so grateful we trusted Him.  

This feels way more appropriate to write in fiveish months when it's time to move.  I haven't shut this chapter yet but this is what has been on my mind now and knowing me, I'll have more to say later.

(pictures are from the little getaway Mike and I took over Thanksgiving break to Yokahoma)