Hello Monday

      Happy Monday, Y'all

Today I'm joining Holly and Sarah, and a few other bloggers, for today's Hello Monday link-up, where we say Hello to Monday with a look at what's going on in our lives at the moment.

 So what's on my mind?

A lot. But 'tis the norm with me, I suppose.

Things like...

Sunrise - I usually leave too late to see the sunrise. But one morning this past week, I had to leave a bit earlier since I needed to get gas. And thankfully, I was able to catch the tail end of the sunrise as a result. Isn’t it beautiful?

My Job - I love my students. They are super cute and funny and just fun to be around. They are also fun to teach. I love seeing their little minds at work and seeing those “lightbulb moments,” when they catch on to something that’s been confusing for them. But y’all… This job is difficult. Emotionally, physically, mentally exhausting and difficult… The extra stuff that comes along with teaching a class like mine is sometimes unreal. That’s probably why I’m going to bed around 8:00 each night. Ha! I am so eternally grateful for this job and I’m also grateful for the opportunity to teach these sweet friends. But still… If you know a Self-Contained Special Ed Teacher in America, give them a hug. Or maybe give them a nap time. They need it :)

Little Celebrations - I saw the image below on Facebook and saved it. We totally do this in our classroom, too. We celebrate all the things :)

Alabama - We had College Colors Day at school the other day, where kids could dress out of uniform if they wore a college shirt/jersey. And of course, I supported Bama :) 

Family - Since it was a three day weekend, I drove up to my mom’s to spend the weekend there. It’s been so nice having the time with her, having down time to rest, and spending time with the rest of my family too, like when we went to church together yesterday and then out to eat afterwards. And yes my brother does like looking like a dork in photos. But it makes me laugh so I’m glad he’s such a goofy guy the majority of the time :)

Beautiful - I got this beautiful shot as we were getting in our cars, leaving the restaurant last night. I love sunrise/sunset. It’s just such a beautiful time!

House Hunting - I’m still looking. Y'all, I had no idea it’d take this long...

Pause - This is my newest water bottle sticker. It’s a good reminder to pause, take a breath (and a sip of water), and then continue. Sometimes we need to pause and give our brain/heart the time to catch up. Sometimes we need to pause and not speak/react right away. Sometimes we need to just pause and breathe for a sec. 

Yep - I saw the post below on Facebook yesterday, shared it, and then screenshotted (screenshot?) it to save to read again later. It was a reminder of how God sees and knows. And considering how I’m at a point in my life where I’m struggling to remember that about my Creator… When I’m struggling with feeling like nothing’s working out, still searching for a house/vehicle, missing the sense of community I had in Dakar and constantly feeling alone, struggling with the difficulties of my job and feeling inadequate and dumb, visiting various churches and not feeling 100% at home or 100% at peace yet with one, and on and on… Well, it truly was such a timely reminder for me that my Creator knows and He sees. 

Friendship - One of the things that’s been hardest about leaving Senegal has been going from being in a small community with lots of friends and always having dinner with people or going places with people or hanging out with people, etc to now having none of that. I go to work. I come home. I go to church. I come home. I miss friendships. I miss going out to eat with people. I miss hanging out at a friend’s house. I miss doing stuff with a friend. I miss living life with people. It’s been extremely lonely and difficult to have gone from having so much of that to having absolutely nothing. This arrived in the mail a little over a week ago and my brother offered to open it for me to take a picture and send to me but I asked him to just wait, knowing I’d be coming up for a visit this weekend. And y’all… Once again, I think God knew I would need it more yesterday. A sweet friend, one I’ve probably been missing the most, since leaving Senegal, had put this in the mail I assume before she left the States this summer going back. I may or may not have cried, reading the card and her note too. And I was so thankful that God saw my heart, and saw that I needed the friendship reminder because even though she’s currently a few thousand miles and an ocean away, she’s such an awesome friend and such a gift in my life!

FYI - I feel like I need to make a little disclaimer. I realize there was a lot of “down” or “negative” in this post. But I feel like we need to be real, you know…It’s okay to feel your feelings. It’s okay to be sad sometimes. Well meaning people are sometimes quick to comment a “don’t worry. You’ll be fine.” Or “don’t be sad. God will work it out.” Or “you’re a Christian. Stop feeling down about this.” We don’t always have to be happy and positive and sunshine and unicorns and rainbows. We’re human. We have feelings and emotions. We need to embrace them. It’s okay to let someone feel the way they feel… Because 9.99999 times out of 10, that person knows God will make a way and God will make things better, but in that moment, they just need to feel the way they feel. And yes, I’m “preaching” to myself here too. We need to do the best we can with what we’ve got and give it some time…

And that’s about it for me.

What about you?

What’s on your mind today?