White Picket Fence

   I clearly remember talking to a mentor this past summer while in Ireland about how stuck I would feel if I had to live an ordinary life. The whole white picket fence, suburban home in a safe neighborhood in America is just not for me, I told her. I shared with her how there has always been this desire in me to do something "more",  to take the time that I was given and use it in some radical way. When I came home, I wrestled with adjusting back to life at home. I felt physically present at home but mentally and emotionally, I was miles away. I also was extremely stubborn and did not want anything to do with making new friends or investing time into anything here. I felt like my life was on hold until I could go back to Ireland and then I could really start living again.
  Oh but I was so, so wrong. Yes, God has so far continued to pave a way for me to return to Ireland but over the course of these past 5 months, God has shown me that I can put just as much heart into what I do here in America and that no matter where God chooses to place me, I can choose to serve and love others with the same devotion that I learned to have when I was in Ireland.
  I wrote a little, poem-ish thing that captures what I've been wrestling through these past 5 months, I share it with you in hopes that it will encourage you in some way today to be present where you are if you are struggling with that today or to assure you that no matter where you go, what you are doing does matter and it does make a difference.

The surburban home
With the white picket fence
Used to be something that 
I wanted nothing to do with

The next Amy Carmichael 
Oh I thought I would be
I'd travel the world
Give up my entire life
For those in need

Then God showed me 
The value of serving others wherever He plants me 
He showed me that it was not the places that drew me to Carmichael's life
But the work that she did
The way she loved others
How she gave up her time

It's not the place, that makes something extraordinary
It's not the place , that leads to sacrifice 

It's what you put out
Each day, in your daily life
It's the love that you share
The time that you give 
To the people around you
To the people that make your heart break

You don't need a passport to live an extraordinary life
You don't need to cross oceans to give up your time
To make the most of this breath you've been given
To make the most of your life

No, in each and every day
You have a choice
Whether you are here, or miles away
You can choose to give up your time
To love with every breath you have
To be a part of something bigger than you 

I'll no longer roll my eyes, at that white picket fence
I'll accept it with open hands
If that's what He wants to give 

I'll open my eyes to the kids and teens in front of me
Help the ones who cannot help themselves
Love the ones who don't know what it's like to be loved
Give them my time

So I'll take that white, picket fence life someday if that's what He chooses
I'll take the small apartment in the city where I may not always feel safe
If that is what He wants to give
I'll accept it with open hands
I'll go wherever He takes me
And with His guidance and strength
I will keep loving and keep my eyes fixed on Jesus