While we were on our trip, I was able to go running a lot. I'm a very slow runner, so when I go, I have lots of time to think. Here are my deep thoughts.
When we arrived in the States, I was amazed at how big everything was. The cars are bigger. The streets are bigger. The houses, the sidewalks, the stores--EVERYTHING is bigger! As I was pondering on this, I was thinking about how we are currently raising our children in two worlds. They are most certainly American. We speak English, eat American food at home, and they are being taught at an American school on base. Right now though, they are also living a Japanese life. We live out in town where (most) our neighbors are Japanese and we shop at a Japanese market (for fresh food) and eat at Japanese restaurants and do a lot of sight-seeing and traveling and playing in Japan. Our feet are in both worlds. So when I was pondering what this might mean for our children, I hope that they take the best things from each world and learn from it. I hope they dream big like we do in America. I hope they believe that they can accomplish anything they want to. I feel like in America we can succeed--or fail--as big as we want to. I don't know that people throughout the world all feel the same way. Not all cultures encourage their kids to spread their wings and fly--fly as high as they can. I hope that Ken and I do that for our kids. I hope they grow up knowing that the sky is the limit; that they can go anywhere or do anything they want. But in saying that, I hope they take lessons from their time in Japan. I hope they learn to bloom where they are planted and to be content with what they have. I hope they appreciate the beauty in the earth and the power of a smile. I hope they help take care of the earth. I hope they learn how to serve in the church (whether the congregation is large or small). I hope they always appreciate the new beginning that each sunrise brings and the cleansing power of a walk on the beach. I hope this experience helps to shape them into the people that God wants them to be.
On our last day in Utah, I was feeling bummed about leaving to head back to Japan. I was running and processing this and was considering the possibility of not coming back to Japan. Finding a job in the States and moving back. I was reflecting on the many lessons I've learned while here and wondering if our time is done. The thought hit me as strongly as if someone spoke it out loud--the lessons are not over yet. My time in Japan is not yet over. So, until it is, I get to keep learning and teaching and serving and discovering what else is out there for us,
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