8,437 miles

A few nights ago as I was trying to go to sleep, it finally hit me. The realization that in a week I would be traveling 8,437 miles (and 7 hours into the future) to a foreign country, BY MYSELF. I'm not going to lie, a major panic did come rising to the surface, but it eventually resigned to a more bearable feeling of anxiousness coupled with excitement. I must say it is an odd feeling to come to realize that you are sitting right on the cusp of a dream coming true. For years I have had the heartfelt desire to go to Africa, and it was faith that kept that dream alive. To believe that I, something so small, could cross an ocean so big, and be a part of something so marvelous, is a miracle in itself.

“Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true”

The day after the I had come to my somewhat scary realization, another realization came to me. It came right after I splashed water on my face at the pool to cool myself down from the heat. After I wiped the water from my eyes, I became overwhelmed by the thought that, yes, everything was going to be okay. The very same thought that I hated so much hearing from other people, was the the thought that suddenly became the equivalent of cool water to my scorching soul. Although the strength of that thought has since faded, the sheer intensity of it in the instant that it came washing over me left an imprint right where it stood. And even if I can't think that thought at this moment or in moments to come, I can feel the imprint and be reminded of its truth. After all, the thought may not have been my own. Perhaps it was the very whisper of God, who spoke when I least expected it, but at the very moment when my desperate soul was finally able to hear.