Christmas in India?!

i received a package from home today. what was in it? good stuff, i tell you. good stuff. things like cold medicine and trail mix, pony tails and dried apples. i poured the contents out on my bed to examine further.

scented candles, i had asked for these. when she asked me what i needed, i desperately wanted them; i didn’t like the way india smelled. i hated waking up each morning to the stench of an old house, weird spices, and unavoidable monsoon season mold. i opened the candles and breathed deep. ah. the smell of home. sometime between asking for the candles and a month later when i received them, i seemed to have forgotten that india smelled. i guess i’ve become accustomed to it. i am beginning to enjoy the way the kitchen scent make me hungry and what was once a stench is familiar as i walked in the front door. i turned my head to my shoulder…maybe i now smell like india.

there were notes too. encouragement, funny stories, and reminders of love. my eyes watered; these are always the best part of care packages. the words bring tears to my eyes. mom is full of sentiment, megan stirs me to laughter. and yes dad, you have lately told me that you’re proud of me, but i never get tired of hearing it.

within the contents, snuggly padded and secured, i found my christmas present. i didn’t know it when the package was sent, but my parents did. the Father had given them a peace about it long ago; they knew i wouldn’t be home to receive it in person this year. they knew i’d be spending this christmas in india.

as of sunday, the word was official, i’ve been given to this country for another term.
what needs to be done in me and through me here cannot be accomplished in four months, an additional seven are needed. there are a lot of other reasons why…a lot of other things which fell into place without any orchestration. i could tell them to you, list the number of ways which made this step so clear. but they cannot compare with the peace within and the leading of my heart. i’ve learned it to be a better guide am still struggling to put it to words.

‘there seems to be a glow about you,’ some tell me of my photos.
‘you look so happy, so full of joy.’
i guess that’s what happens when you’re where you’re supposed to be and doing what you’re supposed to be doing. it comes out on the curves of your lips and sparkles in your eyes. it can be heard through your words and felt in your touch. the internal happenings just might be impossible to hide on my shell and i don’t mind failing to do so.

arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the [Father] rises upon you….
then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy [isaiah 60]

i read the notes again as i finish loading songs onto my ipod. i tuck the granola bars away with the rest of the stash of snacks above my bed and open the package of peeps to begin the ’stale-’ing process. [it makes them oh, so good] i pull two candles out to light and refrain after one…they’ll need to last a bit longer.