Set Free by Faith

Tomorrow, I go home.

When people ask me how I'm feeling about going home, I always say I am incredibly excited. Because I am.

This seems to take most people by surprise. A few have even asked me why I'm not sad about leaving Europe. Well, I've got a few reasons: A) I am quite certain I'll be back. B) God had incredible purpose for me this semester, and I have seen what he wanted me to see. But now, this phase is done, and I am called to go home and put to use the incredible things I've learned here. In the least cliche way possible, this is not the end. It's the beginning.
And that, my friends, makes me excited.

Here's a short re-cap of my semester, in order:

This is where I spent the majority of the last 110 days: Madrid, Spain.

Stop one on our two-week adventure: Interlaken, Switzerland. It's a fairy-tale place.
Technically, we stopped for a few days along the southern coast of France, but I didn't like it very much, nor did I get any note-worthy photos.

Climbing in Innsbruck, Austria. One of the major highlights of the entire trip. Beautiful, not to mention some really great climbing.

We then spent three days traveling through Slovenia and Croatia, which by circumstance more than the places themselves, were miserable. Thus, no pictures of those places either. I'd like to go back though, and give them a fair chance. :)

Venice, Italy. Oh, my, the food was so good. And Venice is beautiful, even if it was packed with tourists.

And with my mom, Barcelona, Spain! So fun, so pretty.

Stop two with Mama Tucker, Edinburgh, Scotland. We're Scottish, in case you're wondering :)

Of all the places I went, Edinburgh was my favorite. I think Sam and I are going to go back this summer and hike the highlands for a few weeks. Cue Braveheart soundtrack.

Solo-adventure number one: London, England. Busy, beautiful in it's own way, and wonderfully old. I loved the business of it, and the quiet moments you stumble on out of nowhere. Not to mention the endless Harry Potter references.

Solo-adventure number two: Amsterdam, Holland. I loved everything about this place, from the food to the people to the cobblestone streets. Even the Red Light District, though not for the same reason most people like it, I'm sure. :)

Solo-adventure number three: Rome, Italy. I didn't make it to Pompeii like I wanted to, but I did get to spend three days hanging out with new friends I met in the hostel, and that more than made up for it.

Solo-adventure number four: Dublin, Ireland. Glendalough is a close second as my favorite place in Europe. I think Jesus really might live there, considering the intense conversations we had along the path through the hills of Glendalough.

I do not even know how to describe this semester. I feel so far from the girl I was when I first stepped off the plane, and I couldn't be more grateful for that.

I've seen some of the most beautiful places in the world, and some of the ugliest parts of humanity. I've been given a heart that aches for God's people, and been changed radically in the way I love those around me.

I have gained weight, to the point that I had to buy a new pair of jeans because I couldn't fit into my old ones. I have never felt more beautiful.

I stood in the middle of a crowded street and cried for the brokenness around me, even though there were people talking about me as they went by.

My hair is long and unkempt, unruly and badly in need of a haircut. I like it like that.

I dance to Michael Jackson in the kitchen in my slippers, and do not miss a beat even when someone walks in on me in a white-girl-attempt at the moon walk.

I have learned to stop and talk to the people on the streets, even when it means people look at me funny.

I cried for the man who tried to rape me. Because I get to love the most beautiful Savior there ever was, and he does not.

That God would take someone as broken, selfish and proud as myself and bother to change anything about me is amazing. He has taken me to the ends of the earth and back again, just to show me what being free really looks like. I've caught a glimpse of what true faith looks like, and what loving with reckless abandon really means.

I'm free to gain weight and have crazy hair, because the definition of my beauty isn't something you can see. I'm free to make mistakes, because the definition of my success isn't something you can measure. I'm free to love recklessly, hurt without fear, rejoice without restraint, because I share a heart with the God of the universe. And because of that, I am free to be unashamed of anything that overflows.

I could go on, but I think you get the point: I'm not who I was.

And I cannot wait to see what is next.