It has now been about 3 ½ years since I moved to the Netherlands. These years have been profound in many ways and in the “short” amount of time that I have been here a lot of things have changed. However, this is not a recollection of everything that has changed ever since but a short story about embracing change and making the best of it.
I used to think that I was quite open to change. I mean I have moved countries a couple of times and have therefore had change happen a lot. Yet, even though I can handle big changes pretty well the small changes take me some time to adjust to.
As mentioned it has now been about 3 ½ years of me living in the Netherlands and 3 years of this time I lived in Amsterdam and loved it. However, after finishing my Master’s I had a hard time finding a new apartment and therefore had to leave and move to Almere. Most of my life still took place in Amsterdam as I am working there full-time and attended church there as well (we now moved locations).
For those that don’t know Almere by train, it is about 30 minutes away from Amsterdam which is not a lot at all. I mean in some cases to get from A to B in Amsterdam itself you might be travelling for more than 30 minutes anyway. Yet, this change was quite an adjustment and took months for me to finally accept. I wasn’t living in Amsterdam anymore and had to adjust to the situation.
At the start of it, I didn’t even try. I was so focused on finding a new place to stay in Amsterdam, that I didn’t even give Almere a chance. I barely spent any time here, other than going to the supermarket and walking the little path from the train station to the house. After a couple of months, I realised that I do need to adjust and accept that I now live in a different city.
Honestly, I tried to see the best in that and focus on the good, such as the fact that the city centre wasn’t as crowded or that I could still get things in my size at Zara. Also, there are beautiful parks around and I live pretty centrally too. Even though there was much that spoke for Almere there was something in me that still had a hard time adjusting and deeming living here as too temporal to put down roots.
As the months passed by I however realised that I was still living in Almere and finding a new place to live in Amsterdam wasn’t as easy as I thought. So, yes I really had to adjust. I thought I did that but honestly, I know I didn’t. So, now I am signed up for the gym, which for me is a big step. I love going to the gym and haven’t been in a while. The reason why I didn’t sign up here was that I didn’t want to put down roots because initially I still wanted to move.
Yet, what I have learned is that I can be content where I am while contending for what is ahead. Signing up for the gym does not tie me to the city but generally brings me joy. I can be living in Almere while looking for a place somewhere without obsessing over it. I can live life here as I would in every other city until the time comes for me to leave.
As I was thinking about those things I remembered what God told the Israelites in Jeremiah 29:5-7. It says:
5 “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
Of course, I am not a captive but it did remind me of the fact that we ought to continue to live wherever we are. That we do build houses in those places and do not wait until we are in a different place or find ourselves in “better” circumstances. That we do the things we are called to do right here, right now.
So, what are you waiting for? You might not be in the place called there but there are things that you can do in the place called here. I know the gym is a small thing but for me, it was quite big, so is writing and actually posting it online. Yet, here we are. What are some of the things for you, that you are waiting for the right circumstances for? I would love to hear from you, so share it in the comments. Also, have a look at my poem Cycles which talks about daily change and a foundation in God.
Love,
Lois
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