Written by Nina Longhofer, a Veritas London student from Oklahoma Baptist University. See her other blog posts at heartofanintrovert.wordpress.com!
Adventure. Magical. Exhilarating. Wonderous. Exhaustion.
One of these words is not like the other. Yet, I would use each of them to describe the experience of studying abroad.
Now, I don’t want the weariness of study abroad to be confused with not loving it here or having a marvelous time. Studying abroad, surprisingly, becomes as mundane as everything else in your daily life. The shine and sparkle of “I’m living in London!” wears off as it becomes “Ugh, construction on my bus route lingers?”
Despite the lackluster shine of regular trips to the supermarket and the normalcy of a class schedule, a new warmth of the experience settles in.
When I first arrived in London, we were told at ISA Veritas orientation we were a part of the 1%. Only one percent of students take part in a study abroad experience. This detail has remained with me throughout my experiences. I am so incredibly BLESSED to be experiencing a world outside of my own. Never in a million years did I think I would leave Kansas to go to college, let alone to travel halfway across the world.
God is teaching me so much about myself and Himself through my journey. But learning isn’t easy. There’s homesickness. And times of discomfort. And exhaustion. I had it in my head that I needed to experience everything I could. Say yes to every opportunity presented to me. Be constantly spending time with people.
But, in a way, that changes who I am at my innermost. I’m an introvert. I need small groups of good friends and alone time. I need adventures on my own, not with large groups of people. And most of all, I need to allow myself to not go to every single event where I’ll be surrounded by new people constantly.
These past couple weeks, for me, have been about finding balance. Balancing community and relational investments. Balancing my “me” time with experiencing life in London.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest….for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Matthew 11:28-29
This morning, at the church I’ve been attending, a woman shared a story that God knew I needed to hear: Last week, another mother at the church was holding her exhausted child who had fallen asleep in her arms. The mum embraced this time of holding her sleeping toddler because it happened so infrequently.
God, our Heavenly Father, wants us to come to Him when we are weary. He yearns for us to take rest in His arms. Yet, in all my stubbornness, I somehow believed I could do it all on my own. That I could be the extrovert meeting all the new people and going to every new place under the sun.
But I couldn’t. And in my exhaustion, I felt God pulling me towards Him. Drawing me to His warm embrace. So whatever it is in your life that brings you to a point of exhaustion, rest in God’s faithfulness.
I’m sure you, like me, have often heard it said: “God will never give you more than you can handle.” I don’t believe this. I believe God WILL give you more than you can handle because He will be there through it all, walking beside you and carrying you when you can no longer carry yourself.
No one ever said it would be easy. But no one ever said you would have to go it alone, either.
