To Be Continued...

"The unknowns are the sum of the adventure"... 8 months ago I began a life in Spain that began with those words, naive to the weight of importance they would soon carry...

I left a life in the USA, unaware how this phrase would ring true over and over and over (and over) again. While searching for a place to live, or being blindly led on excursions along the coast, meeting new Spanish friends, catching a wrong bus (or 5) around the city, singing & dancing in English in front of a Spanish speaking audience, fiestas that unknowingly last until 7AM, living in airports after the Iceland volcano leaves me stranded... I have endlessly clung to that phrase while ordering food off a menu I could never read, or agreeing to see an Intercambio I have never met, or hopping a train to a town I've never heard of.

I know I don't always sit with a full sense of comfort in the feeling of Not Knowing - not to the capacity that some of my good friends&family can.

And now - pause. Spain. All I see are unknowns answered. All I see is God's Faithfulness. And all I know is that this is exactly how the story is written.

There is no way to predict what's next, or begin to picture what it looks like... (though we all have the tendency to want a hint right.now.when.I.want.it.)

I feel a new sense of peace in freedom from plans or direction - work / location / EverythingTheWorldTellsMeIneed...

This season, this year abroad, this life of youth and freedom - of teaching & travel & vagabonding & Spanish & beach - this life of carefree bliss - has been just right. I wouldn't change anything about it. Not a single thing.

While it's difficult for me to see a second past it right now, all the "adios's" I've had to give this weekend have made it feel a bit closer to Final. Though I search for the ultimate closure to this story, I also know a complete ending can't be reached. Because this story isn't over. The parts of life this year add to what was already there, and will continue to build as life goes on...

While it's goodbye to Santander, it's also hello to _________. Bring your questions, your randomness, your transition, your adventure. Wherever you are, whatever you are. I don't know what's next.

But I do know that's the best part.