525, 600 Minutes, 525,000 Moments so dear

Dec. 31, 2009 was my 1 year anniversary of being here in Asia. Yippee, I (we, He and me)made it. There are 525,600 minutes in a year, or so I'm told. There is a song from a play/movie called Rent. You've probably heard of it, but if you haven't here are some of the lyrics to the song.

525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes - how do you measure,
measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. In
inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. In 525,600 minutes - how do you
measure a year in the life?

I love New Year's and the start of new begin. I enjoy reflecting. But right now I'm just trying to remember what I did with those 525,600 minutes. How do measure a year? I just can't believe that this year is gone. I remember last year flying over the city I was going to be landing in and seeing fireworks out my window, I also remember being very sick, thanks to my mom and brother. I remember it being so cold when I got here and also remember eating noodles for my first time for breakfast. Spicy noodles!

How did I spend those minutes of this past year? Did I spent the wisely or foolishly, I'm sure I could have done more with them. Some were spent laughing, actually I think a lot of them were, some were spent crying. Some of those moments were spent yelling at the dog for barking and I'm sure quite a few were wasted sleeping. I spent them doing the normal things like laundry, dishes, walking the dog, making the bed and going to the bathroom. I also spent them doing things that not everyone would consider normal...like singing at the top of my lungs and dancing in my apartment. There are moments I could have made better and moments that could have been worse. I spent minutes singing to a blind man, wishing I could heal the beggar on the street, longing for the deaf to hear Him, and listening to a sister's heart through the language barrier, as we both cried. There have been moments of homesickness (this from the girl who said she'd never be homesick), broken heartiness, loneliness, sacrifice, and anger. But there were also minutes of blessings, love, a few hugs, glory, peace and hope. Hope for tomorrow. Oh, but lets not forget the moments of giardia, stomach issues, minutes spent in squatties, and hours spent on buses when you were sure you weren't going to be able to hold it. Then there were those times of sweet surrender to the Father, of being obedient and not seeing an outcome, just wishing you could. Moments spent in His word; times spent in sweet communion. I spent part of these moments with old friends from home, and some with new friends who came for just a whisper in time. I spent some of those 525,600 minutes making new friends, or at least trying. I spent probably hours going to the post office and picking up boxes (which I'm grateful for). I should have spent more time on language study and class. I've spent times in awe of the Father and times with my heart screaming to Him to change this world. I've used up my moments on my knees, although I should have used more moments for that. Moments with my hands held high in the air and moments with my face to the ground. Like I said I like to reflect, I could go one and one, but I'll spare you.

Honestly, I don't think you can measure a year in moments or hours or even seconds. Time. I wonder how He measures it. If I had a guess, I would think in people. In joys and struggles, trials, and triumphs, in glory. Time is such a odd concept and oh how it goes by so quickly. There is absolutely nothing that you can do with time once it's gone. It isn't recyclable or reusable. I can't get it back. The only thing you can do is reflect and grow from the things you learned from the last time. Have you ever thought about that we waste time, spend time, wait for it, wish it would hurry up. But for Him, time always comes. I being so big, so powerful, that time comes for Him.

Even though this year has probably been one of the toughest years of my life, it has also been one of the sweetest. Even with all the pain and struggles, I hope that this year is as beautiful as last year. And with only ten months left here I hope I can measure time as my Father does...in moments spent with people.....

Beautiful, Year Old, Feet