Skip to main content

Airport in December: beginning the disconnecting.


My plastic cup is stained bright pink from my beetroot, carrot, and I think banana juice. I picked it because it was called “stress blaster” (or something like that), and also coz it sounded nice. Sleep is starting to sneak in and I am wondering if I should have gone with a Starbucks latte with an extra shot of espresso. Anyways, all I really need to do this morning is make it to my gate and get on the plane home. And seeing as I am in the terminal already it shouldn’t be too difficult.

Again I am at the airport, and as always a prime place to blog.

It was weird to be walking through the wet streets of the city center of Amsterdam at 6:30 am this morning. It’s been freezing cold the past week, so I was taken a bit by surprise at how it was feeling warmer (read: still cold) and that my bundling up with scarf and fleece gloves was not necessary. The streets were so empty, but for some random people who by the looks of it hadn’t made it home for the evening yet. As I was walking it dawned on me that this is probably the last time I fly home from Amsterdam as my home. Next time it will be because I am moving.

It’s a time of change. A time of “last times”, and I guess this was one of the many lasts. Coming up to Central Station it was so beautiful to see the massive lit Christmas tree against the backdrop of the beautiful station building. I made me stop and take a photo. One of many photos I will be taking in the time ahead in an attempt to capture the beauty I will no longer be surrounded by.




This week has been so full of emotions. Partly having mountains of things to get done, but also being reminded over and over that I am leaving Amsterdam. Some days it feels like a relief because it means the absence of these mountains; most days it’s sad. Sad because there is so much I will miss. Cancelling my gym and cinema memberships this week was strange. It made moving feel even more definite, which it is, but still... and also filled me with such thankfulness for having had these things available in these years. Two things that bring me so much enjoyment and light, in a everyday that has a lot of intensity and darkness. I can still use them till I leave for Brazil end of January, but it’s strange to be done with them. Disconnecting. Step by step.

And so here I am. Sat in a worn out sofa at Schiphol airport that looks a little bit like how I feel. Intact but weary. And so my heart fills with thankfulness that again God knows and cares for me, and His timing for a break is always perfect.

Thankful that I get to go home for Christmas and just be.

Thankful for family.

Just thankful.

Popular posts from this blog

Packing...again.

I just folded the last load of laundry and I’m almost packed. Off to the airport at 5am tomorrow morning, heading off to Amsterdam. I’m excited, a bit nervous, and wondering what it’ll be like. It’s been a good week at home with lots of quality time with family, especially the little nieces and nephew. I’m glad I’ll see them in April again. Well, not much to write and packing to be done and a bit of sleep would probably be a good idea too. Next time I write it’ll be from Amsterdam....
Read more

Single-tasking September: The art of single-tasking.

To change habits and ways of life, the motivation for change has to be strong, and the benefits outweigh the effort it takes to make the change.  For so long it’s seemed like the ability to multitask has been regarded as a great skill, but is it really a good thing? Recovering from burn-out, one of the effects I noticed was that it was harder to concentrate, and especially tricky trying to focus on many things at once. I’d try to multitask, only to realise that all tasks suffered from lack of capacity to complete any one of them. The challenge is that the habit of always doing many things at once goes deep, and when I tried to focus on just one thing, I found that it was actually really difficult.  As I did a little google search on the matter, I found it seems like multitasking isn’t as healthy as once thought, and that it doesn’t help productivity. Some even referred to it as “switch tasking”, in the sense that the brain isn’t doing many things at once, but shifting rapidly...
Read more

Walking through December: overcoming the challenge of language.

I just got done leading a Bible study in Spanish without a translation back-up, and it went really well. I am amazed at what we are actually able to do when we have no other option. It wasn’t a flawless flow of communication (that would have been a miracle), but together we figured out what I wanted to say. And I think it was good. I was blessed and they seemed blessed as well. The girls just left and I am sat here in my living room with the candles lit. It’s windy and rainy outside, and I am smiling. Happy. Not because I overcame the language challenge, but happy because of yet another beautiful time of bringing more of Jesus to the girls in our Bible study. I am thankful for the privilege of knowing them and standing with them in their journeys of knowing Jesus. And thankful that even when language is shaky, love is stronger and is communicated beyond mere words.
Read more