One of the hardest experiences while living overseas is when a close friend leaves. Sometimes, they're going to come back. Other times, however, you don't know if you'll ever see them again. Friendship is a significant part of survival.
Since I've been here, I've probably made about 14 or 15 friends who are close to my age. Five of them have left. Four of them plan to return, but I'm not completely sure I'll ever see the fifth one again.
When you're a teenager living overseas, and you meet someone close to your age, who is like you in some way (homeschooled, a foreigner, raised in another country, and/or a Christian) there's an immediate link between you and them. Because we're the minority, it's incredibly easy for us to make fast friends. In America, on the other hand, friends are so seemingly easy to come by, that people tend to be a lot more picky about who they spend time with.
I am so blessed to be apart of a close knit youth group, here in this foreign land. Although I've only lived here for 7 months, they have become like a family to me. I remember the first week I went to youth, I felt like I had almost immediately been accepted; and although I travel often, each time I return, we pick up right where we left off.
Recently, I returned to Louisiana and had the opportunity to be re-united to my old youth group, where I received a warm welcome. Even though I had been gone for months, I still felt the love radiating out of them. I am incredibly thankful for them adopting my family as an overseas project. I am also very excited at the prospect of a few of them coming here on a special visit.
In America, when a friend moves away, it's incredibly sad, but when a friend moves away while living overseas, it seems to be a million times sadder. The most important thing to realize when a friend moves, no matter where you are in the world, is that it's part of a much bigger plan. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)
The hardest things in our lives are what usually builds our character the most. When we go through a hard time, there are three things we can do. 1) We can completely ignore that it's happening, fall away from God, and start relying on other things. 2) We can call on God for comfort and draw closer to him. 3) We can call on God, draw closer to Him, and ask him to help us build our character and to help form us into the people he wants us to be. "Since God intends to make you like Jesus, he will take you through the same experiences Jesus went through. That includes loneliness, temptation, stress, criticism, rejection, and many other problems." (Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Life)
When we are facing a hard time, instead of asking God, "Why are you doing this to me?" we should ask Him, "What do you want me to learn?" Also, never forget that behind every problem and situation, there is a purpose.
-Birdie
Since I've been here, I've probably made about 14 or 15 friends who are close to my age. Five of them have left. Four of them plan to return, but I'm not completely sure I'll ever see the fifth one again.
When you're a teenager living overseas, and you meet someone close to your age, who is like you in some way (homeschooled, a foreigner, raised in another country, and/or a Christian) there's an immediate link between you and them. Because we're the minority, it's incredibly easy for us to make fast friends. In America, on the other hand, friends are so seemingly easy to come by, that people tend to be a lot more picky about who they spend time with.
I am so blessed to be apart of a close knit youth group, here in this foreign land. Although I've only lived here for 7 months, they have become like a family to me. I remember the first week I went to youth, I felt like I had almost immediately been accepted; and although I travel often, each time I return, we pick up right where we left off.
Recently, I returned to Louisiana and had the opportunity to be re-united to my old youth group, where I received a warm welcome. Even though I had been gone for months, I still felt the love radiating out of them. I am incredibly thankful for them adopting my family as an overseas project. I am also very excited at the prospect of a few of them coming here on a special visit.
In America, when a friend moves away, it's incredibly sad, but when a friend moves away while living overseas, it seems to be a million times sadder. The most important thing to realize when a friend moves, no matter where you are in the world, is that it's part of a much bigger plan. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)
The hardest things in our lives are what usually builds our character the most. When we go through a hard time, there are three things we can do. 1) We can completely ignore that it's happening, fall away from God, and start relying on other things. 2) We can call on God for comfort and draw closer to him. 3) We can call on God, draw closer to Him, and ask him to help us build our character and to help form us into the people he wants us to be. "Since God intends to make you like Jesus, he will take you through the same experiences Jesus went through. That includes loneliness, temptation, stress, criticism, rejection, and many other problems." (Rick Warren in The Purpose Driven Life)
When we are facing a hard time, instead of asking God, "Why are you doing this to me?" we should ask Him, "What do you want me to learn?" Also, never forget that behind every problem and situation, there is a purpose.
-Birdie
