Two Crazy Beautiful Years

I cannot believe in just a few short weeks I will have a two year old. I wanted to take a few moments and share about my last two years and the things I have learned from them. It has been the hardest two years of my life, but they have also been my favorite years as well. And it’s not just because we added a child to the picture. No, it also includes, moving overseas, spending one entire summer living in six different places, packing up our whole lives into nine small boxes, saying good-bye to family, and diving head first into a new culture. Oh, and jetlag. But that’s another story.

And I have slept less and I’m not caught up on the TV shows I used to watch and certainly haven’t a clue about what has been happening at the movie theater. And I have had food poisoning (twice), had morning sickness, and went through labor and breastfeeding. But I have grown so much as a person and I wouldn’t change it at all. I have had more joyous and happy moments than I have in other years and my heart is so incredibly full. So without further introduction: What I have learned in the past two years.

I’ve learned that family will always be there. No matter how far the distance and no matter how long it is in between visits. I’ve also learned that family isn’t just the people who you are related too.

I’ve learned to not worry so much about money. Sometimes you don’t know how everything is going to work out. But I’ve also learned not to look back and try to figure it out…because it does work out, and most of the time it doesn’t make sense.

I’ve learned that I can in fact live without Target and Chickfila. And no, my friends, this isn’t a joke.

I’ve learned that it’s ok to cry. Even if there isn’t something specific to cry about or even if there is. It’s far worse to hold it inside, trying to be strong. Because eventually the tears will come, whether you like it or not, and it won’t be quite as pretty.

I’ve learned that learning a new language is tough. I’ve learn to celebrate the little accomplishments of learning a language instead of looking at the big picture. Because the big picture seems impossible. And you might just give up if you don’t celebrate the little things.

I’ve learned a whole lot about what it means to be patient, and how I wasn’t patient at all before little feet ran around my home.

I’ve learned that you can substitute almost anything when it comes to cooking. There are countless ways to get around ingredients when you live in a country that doesn’t have them.

I’ve learned that love gets oh so much stronger when you share beautiful moments together. Our little family has never been this close and this in love, and it’s because of the moments we have been through, good and bad, over the past two years.

I’ve learned that it’s never easy to do the right thing. Like a big move, or breastfeeding, or waking up in the middle of the night to feed a hungry baby. Just to name a few.

I’ve learned that most of life does not turn out exactly like you had planned it to. And I have also learned that it is perfectly ok for that to be true.

And this is just a small look into what I have learned. I know even as I am pressing the publish button on this posting I will think of another thing I should have added. But that’s ok. It’s been an amazing two years. I am partly sad to see it pass, but oh so excited to see what the future has for us. So, here’s to yet another beautiful year, full of new adventures and discoveries.

Our Lettuce Garden.

We were going through the normal routine of getting drinks and snacks and food for Noah at the drug store near our house when something caught my eye as we were going inside. Beautiful potted flowers. I just had to take a look. And in the bottom right hand corner of the flower area I saw three small green plants. And then I realized they were red leaf lettuce. And then I saw the price tag.

Whoa. That's a great price. So I went around the store, priced out how much it would cost to buy a pot, some soil, and some fertilizer and I realized it was only going to cost me a little over 500 yen (6 bucks). Now with the prices of food in this country I was so excited to give this a try. So Noah and I loaded up our new treasures into his stroller and headed home.


I was like a kid on Christmas when we got home. Excited about letting Noah play in the dirt for the time and excited that I just might have found a way to save (just a little) money for our family. I put Noah in an old onesie, swept our back porch off and we set out to work.


Noah had never been on the back porch before because it has been so cold here. So the minute I opened the sliding glass door and motioned for him to go out he took off like a race horse for the door. He was so excited he was allowed to go out. I took the pot, prepared the bottom of it and then poured in the soil and then let Noah touch it. At first he was reluctant to do anything with it. Then he touched it with one finger. And then I had to practically dive to stop him from sticking his whole face in the dirt to see what it tastes like. About 30 minutes later I sat with my son, both of us filthy dirty but extremely happy, as we both looked at our new little addition to our back porch: our lettuce garden

Home.

It's interesting to live in a country where you are very different from everyone else around you.

It doesn't take long to realize that you don't quite fit in.

We can't order the simplest things at restaurants. You can hear people talking about you because you know the Japanese word for "foreigner" but you have no earthly idea what they are saying. You have to spend time in the immigration office getting your alien card so you have some form of identification. And the list goes on and on....

But it's not like that in America.

We are just another American Citizen. We look American. We act American. We dress American. We are American. No one looks at you as if you don't belong. No one has to try to communicate with you using hand motions and simple words. You can order food in detail at restaurants. You just fit in.

But in a way, as Christians, living here in this world feels more like the first country then the second.

We are misunderstood. We are mocked. We can feel alone. We can sometimes be unable to communicate to someone in a way they can understand us. We are just passing through here, waiting for eternity with our precious Jesus. Because in the end it was where we were created to be.

So I wonder as I sit here in my bedroom: Am I trying harder to fit in or am I trying harder to prepare for beyond the now? It is so easy to want to fit in here.

But America is not my home.
Japan is not my home.
This world is not my home.

And remembering this fact helps me put my life into perspective.

"Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever."(1 John 2:15-17)