All good things must come to an end

Tomorrow, around 6:45am, I will be hopping in a car and driving away from Holsby. I will say goodbye to my dear friends, and I will be leaving this place that I have called home for the past 6 months.

I can’t believe that my time here is already over. They were right when they said it would go by fast.

Students arrived for the new school year this past Friday. It was so neat to see how everything runs from the other side of things. A lot of work goes into making Holsby as much as a home as possible. And I’m so grateful for the work all the staff put in to making sure that was also accomplished for me.

I will be forever grateful for the impact Holsby had on my life. I have become a better person. My relationship with God has never been stronger, and I pray that I continue to grow it back home. I am a more confident woman in who I am, and I have made some amazing and beautiful friendships.

It’s been a life changing adventure.

I’m excited to be back home. I’m excited to see my family, and my dog. I’m excited to sleep in my own bed. It will be good, and I know that.

But I also know it’s going to be hard to leave this place. It’s been my life for half a year, and it means so much to me.

I know I need to go home though. I know it’s my time. I know it’s time for me to face reality again and keep moving on with my life. It’s time for the next big adventure- whatever that is.

I went on a couple of my favorite walks today- one last time. It has been rainy and overcasty here for the past weekend. But today, my last day, the sky was beautiful and blue. The sun was out. And it was a perfect fall day… which made these walks so much better!

One of these walks is up a hill. We call it sunrise hill.

And when you get to the top, there’s a great view of the almost seemingly everlasting Swedish forests.
When I got to the top, I wrote in my journal a little, and here is what I wrote:

It’s true that being home is going to be difficult… but it’s the next step in my life that I have to take.
It’s like climbing sunrise hill. You go up, up, up, and sometimes you need a break. You need to stop and pause, and take in everything around you (like me going to Sweden). But in order to get to the top of the mountain, to see the view, you need to keep going. You need to continue walking up. It will be hard, and maybe you’ll take a few more ‘breaks’, but you need to keep on moving. Keep on living.
And in the end, you’ll see your view. Your work. And you’ll be able to rest and enjoy it.
I’m not sure what my next step in life is yet. I don’t know what will happen when my plane lands, or where I’ll go after that.

All I know is I’m ready for whatever is next, and I’m excited to find out what that is. It might not be as exciting as Sweden, but whatever it is, God will be with me, and someday I’ll be able to look at the view on top of my mountain with Him… and that’s really all that matters.

Sweden, I’ll miss you. But I know I’ll be back.