In less than a month I will be in Scotland. I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet that I’m going to a foreign country. I mean, I’ve been thinking about and planning for this trip for months and now that it’s actually right around the corner, I can hardly believe it!
It started last October when I was looking online for a missions trip that I could go on. After a while, my choices were narrowed down to two; Scotland or Italy. I prayed about it for a couple days, because they both looked really cool and it was like choosing between an Oreo or chocolate chip cookie…no way are you going to make that decision lightly!
Honestly, I was almost hoping God would say, GO TO ITALY!! (And while you’re at it, make sure to find a cute Italian guy to bring home.)
But…I think the rest is pretty much history. :P I will be going to Scotland in about three weeks and, to complete the adventure, sleeping in a castle. :)
So once that important decision was made, came the boring part of filling out applications and then…waiting. Seriously, it took like three or four months for things to really start rolling and I was about the most impatient person you ever saw. There was even a couple weeks time in December that I thought I might not be able to go after all. Of course God wasn’t in a hurry; I’ve noticed He never really is…and He seems to move even slower when we think we have a legitimate reason to be panicking.
But obviously, God did bring it all together and just today, I was counting up my funds and realized I only need $20 more…He is soooo good!!! And I’m just amazed at ...everything. :D
In other news…I’m officially DONE with piano lessons! My senior recital was yesterday and it actually went very well, despite my, um, slight nervousness. Ok, more like all-out panic. I actually surprised myself a little, because I’m usually ok with performing solo. It didn’t help that the stupid show was delayed about fifteen minutes because the programs weren’t there…if you think it’s scary waiting until you’re were supposed to, try adding another fifteen minutes. And then of course, I had to listen to my teacher talk about how amazing I play and how she is sure everyone is going to enjoy the afternoon. I mean, why didn’t she just say I pretty much stunk at playing piano, and then the audience would have been pleasantly surprised. Hey, this isn’t too bad!
Instead, she built their expectations, and I just knew that I would be a sorry disappointment. Dude, does that girl even know what she’s doing?!?!
It’s really a bad strategy. If you ever have piano students giving a recital, remember what I just wrote.
So then I had to actually go out there, sit at the piano, put my hands on it, and start the piece. It was the absolute hardest part of the day.
But once I finished the first few pieces, my trembling fingers stilled and I felt much braver. :) It probably helped that everyone seemed to be actually enjoying the music…at least they clapped. If they’d booed or sighed, I don’t think I could have continued. :P
Anywho, it was fun…in a way…and now I can add the program to my scrapbook and be happy in the knowledge that my sister will have to go through the same thing next year. :D | 