To Amsterdam

I somehow always forget how much I love traveling until I do just that.  Which is strange considering how much I think I like traveling.  I don't love sitting in a cramped position for seven hours.  But I love the freedom.  I love knowing that when I get where I'm going, it is a different time in a different place.  I love how airports and airplanes are melting pots like nothing else--people are going home, going on vacation, or jumping from one airport to the next layover.  There are so many possibilities of adventures people are having.

I sat next to a Dutch guy on the flight.  He and his son were in Chicago for the son's sixteenth birthday.  Apparently they looked at the options around this time of year.  "It was Chicago or Dallas, and nothing is in Dallas, so..." I laughed and told him I was about to move to Dallas, so I hoped he was wrong.  We talked about jobs and future jobs and where we have traveled.  Then we went back to our seat-back TVs.  It is weird to discontinue a relationship mid-air when you are still six inches from the other person. 

Traveling opens my mind.  Part of it is the freedom of being alone.  I can do anything, go anywhere, and no one cares.  No one will hold it over my head if I look foolish, and no one can tell me not to get a third cup of coffee.  There is also the mental creativity overload that comes from being around so many different people.  All of that combines to mean that I am more likely to think deeper, and to listen to God sometimes, too.

I have been a bit bummed that a lot of my traveling lately has been, or likely will be, repeat trips.  I like new things!  I want to see all the countries!  But this is my second time to Turkey, and I recently went to Senegal twice, and if I can find the time to go overseas again in the near future, I think I'll head back to Mongolia. Ridiculous, I know, to find fault in world traveling.  But I realized something.  My "thing" is that I travel.  But should it be?  Of course not.  As a Christian, my "thing" should be that I love God.

What if God has been putting opportunities for repeat trips in my way so that I realize that I need to give traveling up to Him too?  I don't think I will never go somewhere new, but what if that is the case?  Would I be okay with that? For now, yes.  I trust that God will use my love of traveling and seeing new places and learning about new people in ways I cannot even imagine right now.

If that means a rotating tour of Istanbul, Fatick, and Ulaanbaatar, then I guess He has some pretty rad plans up His sleeve. And hey, there are always layovers in new cities.

Speaking of which, I'm off to explore the Amsterdam airport, which is not actually new.  I just saw the little kids' table where some of our CA-1 group played cards!