Sometimes the Best Choice and the Hardest Choice Are the Same Thing

For the last few years, I’ve said, “I hate Atlanta/Georgia. I want to go to _____.” I’ve been psychoanalyzed so much about this that I must be running away from something. Perhaps they’re right in some ways, and maybe I have some sort of negative connotation towards Atlanta, but the city is not going to change. As my “wise” middle sister, Mandie, has said, “Live in Atlanta, but don’t do it the way you did before. Change it.” When you can’t change something (Atlanta), you have to change yourself. I mean, it’s a good practice for life. In a world where we want everything to change for our ideal (and we wonder why so many people get divorced…), sometimes we have to change ourselves because “the benefits outweigh the costs” (Thank you for the advice, Andrew Jones). Life is never going to be perfect, so we have to change our minds/attitudes/whatever to make it work. We are much more courageous, brave, strong, humble when we do that.

Change the World

"Never underestimate the ability of a small group of committed individuals to change the world. Indeed, the are the only ones who ever had."
~ Margaret Mead

Family Missions Company is a small(er) missionary organization started by Frank & Ginnie Summers, lifetime missionaries. They now teach others to be missionaries in Abbeville, LA, and host mission trips for Catholic families and lay missionaries to engage in evangelization and serving the poor in foreign missions. In February 2009 I had the opportunity to join several people from Lafayette, LA on a 2 week mission trip to Ecuador where we road in the back of trucks, took boats, and hiked to 17 communities to provide medical care. If you are interested in doing missions (even as a family), check into FMC at http://fmcmissions.com/

God is Good…even when I’m confused

Sarah & Sara might kill me for this picture and it is super random, but it was one of my favorite confusion moments. What in the world were we are eating in Budapest? Oh right, chunk & soup.

I made a mistake a couple days ago. I was in terrible anguish over choosing between 2 jobs: One in Atlanta with the majority of my friends & family in a city I “hate”, and the other in North Carolina where I hardly know a sole and have only visited once but seems to be a place that fits me. While being in turmoil over this decision, I had several people ask me, “Liz(zy), what do YOU want?” I felt like I was in the stupid Notebook (I think that’s the only part I like about the movie because that is…me…for everything). I never really had much of an answer bust silly things like being able to bike/walk to work, being in a green/granola place (reminds me of Africa), and learning to settle down. However, what I really want most is a community. I’ve spent, oh, the last 11 years spread out among many. I’m tired. And, what did I do, but choose the job in the city where I know only person. Um, where in the world is my community there? I was so upset over my decision. I mean, my friends and family are in Atlanta! However, despite my mistake, God is good. I had forgotten I had e-mailed a Catholic church in Chapel Hill that I was looking for some Catholic girls to live with. The e-mails have been pouring in from (hopefully) my new community. Thank You for loving me despite myself and random decisions.