10 Things I Learned in February
From the IF:gathering in Texas, to Luxembourg, meeting friends, new and longstanding, along the way, February has been a busy month.
I missed January, but it seems so long ago, so I'm forging the way forward instead of looking back.
If there is one thing that these posts are teaching me, it's this: there are things that I know I've learned as I learn them, things that I realize I've learned in hindsight, and things that I learn only by learning them again and again until they finally stick.
I hope you enjoy this peek into my February, and I'd love to know what you've learned this month (and beyond) as well.
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1. Re-reading a book at the right time can be like reading a whole new book.
I read Lauren Winner’s Still just as it came out in 2012, trembling just a little, not sure what I would find inside. Later, I bought it, having a hunch that it would be the sort of book to return to, a companion along the way. I’ve had it with me on my trip. It has followed me to several countries and I am loving seeing myself in the pages in a new way. All this goes to remind me that books can be friends.
2. More than I ever wanted to know about prostitution in Amsterdam.
3. I am capable of baking a cake.
4. I can seek after and pray for racial reconciliation, even though I’m white, and nervous.
5. It is nearly impossible for me not to photograph a beautiful meal (but I won’t be instagramming it).
6. Sometimes telling a story that once brought shame can also bring healing.
7. Most of the French I remember is food-related. (Anyone surprised?)
9. Hillsong’s song “Oceans” takes on a whole new meaning when in another country, singing along with people of many different countries and cultures.
10. Each person is unique, no matter where you go.
Yes, I’ve known this, but it’s important for me to be reminded now and then. I spent last Sunday lunch with people from India, Germany, the UK, and Seattle. The more people I’m meeting from other cultures and countries, the more I’m realizing that it’s difficult to generalize. People are so individual. What a lovely thing.
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Now it's your turn. What have you learned in February?
Linking up, as always, with the lovely Emily P. Freeman at Chatting at the Sky. Come join us, won't you?