Reflections of a Stranger in Paradise

     Another short season of my life has begun: the break season. I finished this past semester with a few flying colors and a few not-so-flying colors, but I count survival as the most important thing. :o) And now for six weeks I am class and homework free! Whew!

     I've been thinking a lot about life in general. So if I ramble on, bear with me. :) I hate when life speeds on by. I hate when I go from one day to the next just going through the motions of what I have to do: get up, get dressed, drive, work, eat, drive, sleep, drive, check Facebook. I hate not being able to sit down and just think. I'm the kind of person who has to process what's going on. I can't fly from one thing to the next, day by day by day. When I do, I feel like big chunks of my life are missing. Does anyone else feel that way? So that's why this post is a bit more serious and reflective, if you were wondering. I need a breather :)

     Christmas is nine days away, but it doesn't feel like it at all. There's no snow! Pennsylvania weather is weird :o) I took this photo last week, and believe me, it's an unusual sight for a PA December. There's actually sunshine!

     The coming holiday is another reason for my desire to process my thoughts. I hate how Christmas comes and goes in a cacophony of songs, colors, and lights, but the messages it stands for never stick. It's on to the next thing. Our world is funny that way, always on to the next thing. 

     Did you ever realize how much attention the culture pays to Christmas (the holiday where you get things), while completely blowing over Thanksgiving (the holiday where you're thankful for things)? And Christmas was never supposed to be about getting at all. It represents God giving us a great and precious gift. But instead we turn it into the holiday that celebrates materialism. I think that every holiday is meant to be an opportunity for thanks. Too bad society doesn't see it that way. Too bad I don't always see it that way.

     So I guess that my ultimate wish is that I never lose touch with myself and who I need to be. It's so easy to get caught up in how the world thinks things should be - Christmas is an excellent example. I want to always be refusing the identity that the world may give me. I want to instead have the identity I was meant to have - the identity God planned for me to have. The title of this blog is symbolic, I suppose. I'm just a stranger in a beautiful created paradise, trying to figure life out a day at a time. I don't have all the answers, but I know Someone who does :)

     So sorry if this post was rambly and confusing. It's just what's been on my mind. I've decided to be more transparent, even if no one reads or cares. Frankness never hurt anyone; pretension never helped anyone. 

     So have a splendid day and a blessed week! I pray that Christmas doesn't blow over you in an overwhelming commercialized wave, but that you have a chance to stop, savor, and enjoy every taste of it. 

Cheers!

Hanneli