it is funny to me that i did not have to seek this quote out. but that something i feel God has been teaching me during my time here is reinforced by a quote that appeared in a book I am reading for pleasure. my soul could not agree more. there are canyons that exist within us and as i told a friend last night, i feel that those canyons are filled when there is meaning. and I believe that the meaning we desperately desire is God. that it rests in him.

this idea has surfaced many times here and i pray that i continue to grow into it.

this is on my mind because i spent last night beneath the stars on the beach at a going away party for my friend Sid who is returning today back to the U.S. as things usually go beneath the stars, i had another opportunity to connect with a friend i have made here and speak openly about life and humanity. when reflecting on the conversation i wrote this in an email to my family and friends:
“I sometimes struggle when I think about others who seem to have it all figured out and seem like they honestly couldn’t care less about faith or hope, or they think they have hope and meaning in something else. I question myself. I begin to wonder if I am crazy for feeling meaninglessness apart from God and eternal life and purpose with him.”

i am thankful when i get to know someone beyond that point when you think everything is okay with them. when you realize that yes, they are human, and they are not so different from you after all.

i don’t have much else to say. i merely wanted to document that i am blessed to be given opportunities to know people, to learn about them, and to be moved to think deeply about myself and the condition of all the other billions that inhabit this beautiful sphere on which we live.

i am seeing prayers being answered. oh and dad, when i said that i don’t know if i will look back on Africa and think it was amazing– i was wrong.