Right Where I Belong

Well, I've finally done it. 

I'm a blogger.

And it only took 6400 kilometers of travel to convince me to give it a go. A real go.

That, and a million questions from family (mostly my Mom), friends and coworkers about what would ever convince a 33 year old woman to leave her life behind for six months- a life full of all the "rights things"- a great career, nice little home, a hopeless non-existent love life (oops, how did that one sneak in there?!), great friends, family, a good income, a cute cat named Lola, stability, consistency, familiarity...

I mean, it's only six months, people!

So, what would convince this 33 year old woman to skip town and go away for six months?

God.

It's as simple and as complicated as that.

In fact, my story may sound familiar to some of you (that is, assuming anyone is following this blog... ). To some, it may even sound normal. But normalcy is not what I have ever craved out of life. That may be why I chose to become a paramedic, a career I love and enjoy very much. However, this beloved career of mine isn't one that sees a lot of retirees. So a couple of years ago, I decided to become proactive... insanely proactive. Ridiculously proactive. In addition to my regular full time duties as a paramedic, I completed my business degree and became a project leader for a major healthcare initiative. To say I was busy was the understatement of the year. 2010 was the year it all came grinding to a halt. A rather abrupt, crushing halt. It wasn't pretty and it left me empty, desolate and feeling like I had wasted the last couple years of my life. The undertow of it all was dark, bleak and I was fighting to stay above water. Fighting just to breathe. But I fought the good fight and grabbed on to the only Lifesaver I knew. And it was Him who saved me. Again.


As I clung onto my Lifesaver and regained life, the overwhelming busyness of my former life was a stench that I could not forget. A coworker once sent me an email that told the story of Satan and his minions. They were having a meeting, plotting how to tempt and destroy the world. Their "devious" plan? To distract the world from God with overwhelming idle busyness. Does it work? The conviction I was feeling told me it did. Our lives are overflowing with activities, television, the internet, work commitments, Facebook, meetings, committees, Twitter, cell phones, text messages, advertising... where do I fit God into all of this busyness? More importantly, why am I trying to "fit" Him into my life, instead of making Him the priority in my life? 

I vowed to never be that busy again.

Last spring, I was on the internet one day, looking up information about Fiji for an upcoming missions trip I was involved in. I stumbled upon the website for the Islands in the Sun Discipleship Training School. As I read over the information, I heard God call me His daughter and He told me that He was proud of me and all I have accomplished in this world. And then He gave me an invitation that I could not refuse: it was time to put aside things for the world and for He and I to get to know one another and to build a strong relationship... and I was to start it by joining this “Islands in the Sun DTS” in Fiji. I said yes immediately and then began to wonder how I could leave my life for six months, a life full of all the "rights things" to get up and go to Fiji because God told me so?

A long story short, I am sitting here in Fiji, no worries about my life in Canada. A good, trustworthy friend is taking care of my home and my cat (thank you Ardelle- you are appreciated!). I have been granted a leave from work until July. I have been prayerfully sent off by my church. I have a steady income until the end of May. And, I have been blessed with loving encouragement from friends and family. Not once did I ever have to wonder or worry. Every detail, down to what underpants (I love that word) I took with me, was taken care by God. There's no doubt in my mind that I am here for a reason, right where I belong.

There is a Fijian proverb that caught my eye: 


"Life is like this: sometimes sun, sometimes rain" 


... and that is the inspiration for this blog and for my time in Fiji.

Thanks for reading,

Christy