Wanderlust

Folks, I have been suffering from a serious case of wanderlust lately.
As I polish wine glasses at work, I find my mind is in an entirely different place, hiking in the rainforest in Belize.
As I give the cashier my credit card at the local grocery store, I remember the fresh pineapples that were available in the market in Mozambique. I ache to walk again on the dusty
streets of Africa.
I check Expedia for flight deals way more than is healthy for a woman of my income.
This is wanderlust. I do not know if it is the discomfort of the cold Canadian winter, the dissatisfaction from my job, just boredom or a combination of all three, I find myself dreaming about being somewhere else instead of being where I am.

But wait.
I am here.
If I am not content here, I will not be content there. Changing locations does not mean a better life. God has created such a diverse and intricate world that no matter where we are, it is amazing.

On Tuesday, I could not stop thinking about traveling. I thought about it as an escape. But then Wednesday happened, and I was reminded that I do not need to go anywhere else to have an adventurous, full life.
On Wednesday, here in Wolfville, there was a blizzard. I slowly drove to work in the wee hours of the morning, before the blizzard was in full force. The snow kept on falling, and people kept on calling to say they would not be coming. I really doubted anyone would come for lunch. But then, an older man came in and said he would like to make a lunch reservation. But, it would not be for him. No, he had some friends who were a young couple: students. And he wanted to treat them for lunch. But he did not want them to know he was paying. Of course, this conspiracy of love delighted me. I have never had so much fun serving people. I could not help but grin with the secret knowledge that their lunch would cost them absolutely nothing: and they had no idea! This little incident reminded me that God can use us in the simplest of situations to bless someone.
Later on Wednesday, I carefully drove home from work and appreciated the warm house as snow blew outside. On Wednesday evening, as we often do, we had some friends over. I tried a new recipe: duck, from a recipe from the popular television program Duck Dynasty. There are many simple joys in life and one of them is sharing a meal with friends.

After this meal, a few of us had a snowy adventure. If I had been feeling discontent, sliding down a few slopes and jumping into a few snowbanks cured that. Lying in a drift, laughing, I finally understood: I do not need a boarding pass to have the kind of life I want. All I need is creativity.

Maybe it is because I am young, but I always want to be doing something new. Here is the truth: I could live in the same tiny town for my entire life, and every day I could do something new.  And that is possible, without going anywhere. There will always be new people to get to know, new ways to love them, new nooks and crannies to explore, new snow in which to play, new recipes to try, new books to read, and new skills to learn.

I still like traveling, and I will still travel. But I know that traveling is not the secret to a full life. Especially when serving Jesus, every day is new adventure, whether I leave this community or not.