The First Thoughts

 In 24 hours, I'll be boarding my flight to London.

It's surreal by any means, finally organizing all of the clothes and various other items thrown about my room. I've got only two or three more things to check of my list and I'll be set, and praise be to God my bag is under 50 pounds.

The Best Part of it all is all the people I was able to spend time with before leaving. What I thought would be another simple weekend was quite a fun time. The regular things like church service, the mandatory Belvita breakfast biscuits, and worship were enough to put a smile on my face, but there's always more.

   The end of church blended into setting up a youth event, which further turned into games of 9-square and other shenanigans. Overall, it was nice to see and catch up with everyone who was back over the weekend from college. Regular bible study turned into an afternoon on the lake, which meant tubing, the greatest test of one's willpower. I hadn't gotten the chance to get out all season, so that was a blessing in and of itself. A Formula-1 watch party followed this, and while I'm fairly new to it all, trust me I'm passionate. What filled my soul the most was what came after worship with my peers and close friends, one guitar, and a chorus of voices.

    Earlier this morning, I received texts, prayers, and well-wishes from even more people. What excites me most is realizing the opportunity I have to spend time with even more new people. A brief stop at Starbucks, where I worked the last nine months, led to a half-hour chat about my upcoming travels. It was a pleasant break from trying to get everything together.

    What prepared me most for the trip was the time spent in prayer with people close to me—prayers through texts and phone calls and, of course, in person. Prayers were given after dinner with my parents and after an eventful Sunday. Even after having a few days to process some of the words said, I still don't believe I'm able to describe the emotions that washed over me effectively. The prayers are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of all that's been done.

    I've had so much time to think of my various goals for the trip, and my mindset shifted the more attention I gave to them. I've established habits I hope to maintain and improve on my journey, such as journaling, spending time in the Word, praying, etc. I've also started new projects like His Perspective and the blog you're currently reading. To be honest, I have so many tools that I can use to reflect, and I know the goals will come the more I write.