Sooo here we go! I'm going to be completely honest right now and let you know that I have no clue what I'm doing, but what I can promise is that the stories and adventures I share will be completely authentic to the core- good or bad. I was going back and forth on what I should start this "blog" off with and decided on my trip to Iceland. Not necessarily jumping into the memories of tasting shark (not so fabulous by the way!), swimming in the bucket-list worthy Blue Lagoon, or dodging erupting geothermal geysers when doing a mini-roadtrip on the Insta-worthy Golden Circle. This wasn't my first country that I traveled to, nor were the "excursions" as unique as hiking through the Amazon rainforest for four days, but it was my first time traveling solo and having no plans ahead of time whatsoever.
It was on my bucket list. Not Iceland really, but to take off on a one way flight to a foreign country without having everything mapped out in front of me. Maybe it was that book "Under the Tuscan Sun" that inspired it, or maybe I was needing my "Eat, Pray, Love" moment. Not really sure, but it was a desire deeply rooted in me. That desire to just engulf myself in a nerve-wrecking situation that allowed for personal growth of the soul, all while getting to explore other cultures and see the beauty of the world around me. Of course, these moments don't usually pop out of the blue, it took God giving me an opportunity to grow. I was craving that spiritual growth and knew I wasn't getting it doing whatever I was doing.
I had always loved discovering new "things". I can't stand that word, because it's so vague.. but it fits. I loved exploring all new things- cultures, food, difference of opinions, any and all of it. So that particular July afternoon, I was sitting and talking to my friend, Haley, telling her how I had wanted to take off somewhere and would love to go to Europe because I felt comfortable traveling by myself my first time there (all while admitting it was probably an unlikely leave-it-on-the-shelf idea because mid-summer flights over there were insanely pricey). All within the same minute, I opened my phone (I know, super rude while I should be fully present with the company in front of me!) and had opened Safari to my home page- a travel deal website. "ONE WAY FLIGHT SAN FRANCISCO TO REYJAVIK, ICELAND: $99" leaving 10 days later. Umm, yes please! If that wasn't God giving me the green light, I don't know what was. "Haley, can you pass me my purse on the other side of you? I'm going to Iceland." That's literally what happened, and yes, it was as odd and confusing as it sounded. I had no money saved up for this adventure, and no plan of where to stay or how long I would be able to stay.. but that wasn't my concern. Every bone in my body knew that I needed to do this. God literally handed me the situation. Hey, maybe I can blame the Holy Spirit for rudely telling me to check my phone? Totally kidding!
This isn't necessarily me telling you to hop on the next flight out of the country because 99% of the time, that would be super irresponsible and inconsiderate of potential people or situations that you need to take into account at home. It's just saying that you should totally listen to that "gut-instinct" if you will, a.k.a. the Holy Spirit, guiding you towards areas of your life that will stretch you, which will help you reach your fullest potential to fulfill God's glory.
*Intentional cliffhanger, to be continued in the next post..