Much has gone on.
My younger brother recently got married (YAAAAY!!!)
{above photo courtesy of Meredith Sloan Photography}
The farmer's market that our family does every Saturday from May-October will be starting back up once again this Saturday.
{above photo by Maggie Goodman Russell}
And, last but not least, I am no longer in the relationship that I so fondly blogged about at length back in January. I debated with myself as to whether or not I should mention it, because I thought: "Yeahhh. Well, that's super awkward." But no, not really. That's just my pride talking, and I'm not going to allow that to get in the way of sharing what God is doing in my life. Because you know what? There is no shame in releasing something that began to appear....shall we say....NOT right. At all.
I'm the type of girl that doesn't date around. I entered this relationship because there appeared (note, "appeared") to be real potential in it. I'd never even been in a relationship before this one. But it ended quite badly, and the last conversation I will ever have with him ended abruptly when he hung up on me. Classy. This was just last week, it's all still very fresh. I shall spare you the details, which are no secret, but let's just say I am so very thankful the true colors of this guy were made apparent and were clearly shown in the end, with his behavior and parting shots to my parents making it easier to walk away.
Yes, I am a Christian. Yes, I confess that I don't understand it all, or understand "WHY?" this had to happen to me, or why I was so deceived. But I don't have to understand. Nor do I need to go and wallow around (though yes, wallowing can sometimes be fun, and the mud is good for your complexion.) What I do understand is that my God works all things for good {Romans 8:28.} He is giving me a new and fresh understanding that every day, in the truest sense, He is really all I need. {Psalm 125:1-2} and {2 Peter 1:3} My *faith* will not pull me through, but my faith IN God will pull me through. He is teaching me and I want to be a good student.
But before all the above changes and bumps in the road, a couple months ago, out of the blue, I was handed the opportunity to travel to Germany with my great Aunt Rachel. She would be visiting her son, my cousin George and his family.
Over the years, the Navy has had him living all over the place. I visited them when they lived in VA and when they lived in Oahu. They currently live in Stuttgart, Germany, and when I heard that they were moving there, way back two Thanksgivings ago, I took it upon myself to start learning German via a free iPhone app, thinking that maybe, perhaps, the time may come when I could visit them.
This May, that time will come. My Aunt and I get along just famously, and so I am quite thrilled to have three plus weeks as her traveling companion, and we shall be seeing sights, eating stuff, and I heard a rumor about someone saying something about AUSTRIA?! The timing couldn't be more perfect for me, and I owe it all to the Lord. He knew I would need a little get away after the recent drama.
And so, starting May 18th, just as I chronicled my last adventures in England, Scotland and Paris, so shall I chronicle my Germany trip here, on my blog. And if you have not read those, and wish to blow a few hours with some ramble about English culture, the inner working of the London Underground, Scottish oddities, how I did something that could have gotten me kicked out of Westminster Abbey, and the story of how we missed our flight to England, then feel free. :) (Just select September 2013 from the blog archives on the sidebar.)
Let's just hope my German holds up. Right now, I know enough German to carry me through a few select chit-chat scenarios (provided they don't speak too fast), order myself a latte, say "Don't hold it against me, I'm American" and tell the tour guide that his hat looks nice. All very useful, right? And thanks to reading The Book Thief last year, well, let's just say that I've got a few *choice words* memorized. I should be all set. ;)
His girl,
