Time Flies

I just realized that it has been almost a month since I last wrote anything. This reminded me of how quickly time passes. I have now been living in Kazakhstan for over five years. Most of the time, it seems like it has been maybe two or three years. Although my five-year contract is complete, I have no intention at this point of leaving my home here in Kazakhstan. I will however be returning back to the States for a few months in January. After that, I plan (God-willing) to return to my home here. I would like to spend some time over the next few posts sharing some things that have really encouraged me as well as things I have learned as I think back over my five years here.



This year has actually been my hardest year of all. It has had nothing to do with culture or life here, instead it has had more to do with how busy I have allowed myself to get. With fewer people here working with us, at times I took on more than I could handle realistically (although I would never want admit that I couldn't handle it). :) As I became more busy, I forgot to take time to rest and to be renewed regularly. As a result, somewhere around January I started cycling towards burnout and continued plummeting through the Spring. I finally recognized where I was in May, but it took a month for me to get to the point where I was starting to move away from it and not just get caught in a trap.



At times over the last few months I have felt like I am going through a very dark tunnel, with no light or even hope of light in sight. Last month I began to catch glimmers of light and have continued moving closer to the opening of the tunnel.



Although this has been a challenging year, it has been a real learning experience for me. I have learned to rest and continue to remind myself to say no when I can't really take on one more thing. The joy and peace that I had lost somewhere along the way is returning. I am thankful that I have a God that is faithful and walks us through fires in order to draw us closer to Himself.