“Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” Dorothy
We are definitely not in Kansas! We are across the ocean in a dry and dusty land that we asked not to move to. After months of planning and more months of being apart we have had one month in the same place. We are convinced that we are here for a reason and determined to turn that unwanted change into an adventure! This is an update on our expat journey:
I discovered this quote this morning…
“The only way that we can live, is if we grow. The only way that we can grow is if we change. The only way that we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed. And the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves out into the open. Do it. Throw yourself!” ― C. JoyBell C.
It beautifully emphasizes the heart of a message I shared in the Lead Change Blog last week….
“I recently spoke with a friend that has an extraordinary gift, and an opportunity to use that gift at a much higher level.
In my first two days in the midst of the foreign land that I struggled to move to, and as I began to wear my “cloak of invisibility” each time I left the compound ~ I met a family that had lived outside of Paris for a few years. (That is a destination I would have preferred!) The mother of this family shared how much more thinking and planning she had to do to get her two children around while they were there with no car. Planning transportation routes, figuring out how much time it would take, preparing snacks before they would get on the trains, having to go to multiple stores to grocery shop.
Wow, what a perspective change!
Immediately I felt a wave of thankfulness for all the things that are easy about my new world.
What a powerful reminder that so many times the change we fear is not as hard or as bad as we imagined and that if we focus on “what is” instead of “what is not” – how much easier it is to find things to be thankful for!
My treasured moments so far have included:
The toughest part of my experience so far:
A few years ago my sister adopted a 3-year old little boy that was born addicted to meth. He had been in and out of foster homes, diagnosed with Fragile X Syndrome, had abandonment issues and could not speak.
That sister lives in another state and I don’t get to see her often. When we spoke about her new son’s challenges, the challenges the family faced, and the special moments they were beginning to experience… I found myself wanting to I understand more.
Shortly after the adoption, I moved to a new city and met a family with an adult daughter with cognitive challenges.
It was at that time that I realized that although I was always mentally supportive of families and children with special needs and nice to them, I was also uncomfortable simply because I did not know how to fully engage with them. Was it okay to ask questions? Or would that be offensive? What behavior did you need to accept and love and what behavior should you coach and correct?
New beginnings and fresh starts…
One of my life’s messages is encouraging others to make choices to leave their comfort zones, reminding them about all of the things they miss out on each time they choose not to take a risk and pointing out all of the growth that happens when they embrace change.
In the fall of 2012, just after sharing this message, my husband was asked to take a new position, across the world, in the only place we said we never wanted to live.
When I got past the shock, got a lot of basic questions answered, and spent quite a bit of time in prayer, I thought of a friend of mine…
