How Things Have Changed...

**Warning: Long (but highly overdue)**

It is amazing to me when I look back on the last few weeks, months and even the last year of how my life has changed.

12 Months Ago… I was traveling around Australia with Kim, on Fraser Island actually. We had an amazing conversation on our second night there. What a blessing that woman is!

11 Months Ago… I had said goodbye to Kim and I was living with Kira and Kaila in Sydney trying to find work in the city. It was during this time that I felt that I really learned how to trust God. I had no job, no money and I couldn’t stay in Australia much longer if something didn’t come up. God gave me this verse: “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” –Psalm 40:1-2

According to my journal, I also had a dream that I had twins. One boy and one girl. I hope that one comes true :)


"Moon Art" In Australia, we went to watch a moonrise. Very cool and worth experiencing. I was having fun with my camera :)

10 Months Ago… I was finding my wings as I wrote in one journal entry. “I do feel that being here (Australia) on my own, growing and learning, I am staring to find my wings. It’s time to be pushed out of the nest and learn how to fly on my own.”

9 Months Ago… I have found a solid Christian friend and we begin our friendship. I am living a very simple life in my small town and have come to enjoy it. I feel that there is no stress and I feel healthier because of it. “Life is good down under!!”

8 Months Ago… I was in a bit of a rough patch. Dealing with some unexpected dramas with a coworker led me to be a bit down but I soon got out of it. At this point I have also started running daily which is something I wish I had time for now that I am back to work. Oh well!!

Sunset overlooking Soldiers point just before watching the moonrise

7 Months Ago… I smile just as I write that because I know what this time of year brings without having to look back on my journal. The day before my 22nd birthday is when I got to know Barnaby for the first time. We had a beach bbq with 20 friends. He brought his new puppy to the beach and my heart melted for her! She was so cute and of course this forced me to get to know Barnaby more as well. And I’m sure glad I did.

This time in my life still brought some bad days (who doesn’t have them) but this is what I wrote: “I’m trusting that everything will work out the way its supposed to. Even on my bad days, it still feels so right being here in Australia.”

It still feels so right.

6 Months Ago… I was attacked my one of my coworkers when he was drunk (and off his meds and using other drugs) as I tried to take away his keys because he was going to drive home. It was scary at the time but I was fine. Barnaby and I have also been dating for a few weeks now. It has been a bit of an adjustment as it is my first real relationship but so far so good!

5 Months Ago… I am in love.

Sydney Sign in Queenstown, NZ

4 Months Ago… I am in a battle. Over the last few months my relationship with God has taken a shift due to putting my work ahead of my church life. I decide to make more of an effort to attend church weekly and get my relationship with God back to where it was. I trust Him completely with my life; it’s in His hands. Nothing, not work or a man, is more important that God because in the end, He will always be there and will always provide for me.

3 Months Ago… I have started a new job. My 6 month contract at my first job ended and I had to make a switch. Through some connections I easily get a new job and start right away. Once again God provides!!

2 Months Ago… I was in a town called Ubud in Bali and I went to a monkey forest and had monkeys crawl all over me. Scary. It was a great day full of exploring town, eating the most amazing ribs ever and going to the spa for a full body massage that cost a mere $8 Canadian Dollars. Got to love Bali!! As our time in Bali runs down, the realization that Barnaby and I will be saying goodbye to each other becomes real… too real. Plain and simple it sucks!

1 Month Ago… I was in Auckland, New Zealand. Several weeks earlier I had to say a very tearful and emotional goodbye to Barnaby. As I prepare to head to Vancouver, I am anxious about my transition home and the even bigger gap between Australia and Canada. Plain and simple, long distance sucks. Although the distance between Barnaby and I is great and the next few months will be a difficult journey, I know it will be worth it when we see each other again.


On the way to the Milford Sound in NZ

Today… I am in Vancouver but I don’t feel that I am home. I once felt that I would always come back to Vancouver and be happy here. All of my family and friends are here, it’s a beautiful city and I have my old job back, gearing up for the Olympics but it just doesn’t feel right anymore. I think that I have always been a small town girl at heart. Growing up I would always love our family trips to Houston BC and I think that small town living has never left me. I think this is one of the reasons why I felt more at home in little Shoal Bay Australia. It is a small town, I know a lot of people, there is a great sense of community, I never once felt any stress; it’s beautiful. I long to be back there for this reason and of course, the obvious one. I left many special behind along with everything else.

The plan from here on out is to work up until the end of May when all of the Olympic busyness is over. I am planning to move back to Australia in the end of May, after one of my dear friends gets married. Of course, this is not all up to me, it depends on where God leads me. We’ll see what road I take now.


Barney and I at the Gitgit waterfalls in Bali