
“It is never convenient and there is never enough money to travel but sometimes you just have to make yourself go or else you’ll never do it.” (Jordan Ferney, Oh Happy Day)
This sentence was included in Jordan’s update at Oh Happy Day this morning. It couldn’t be truer. There are people who have never left the country or even the state–I seriously can’t imagine how I’d live a life like this. I know I’m blessed and privileged to be able to travel freely as long as planning happens. Anything is possible if you think ahead, plan well in advance, and act strategically.
Saving diligently for our summer vacation has caused a little tightness at the end of the past few months (we get paid monthly), and trying to get my name changed on my passport has been a nightmare. Yesterday, I got an e-mail from the passport agency saying that my new passport is finally in the mail. It’s been a month-plus ordeal… But I’m not celebrating until I have it in my hot little hands. It has been pretty demoralizing not having a passport, even for just a month. Not just because it meant that we couldn’t move forward on our Eurotrip, but because many of my life goals involve leaving these ole United States. I want to visit orphans, I want to plant trees in Africa, I want to serve others in impoverished countries. I would love to (and feel called to) live overseas and work with an aid agency.
I have been adamant about not buying plane tickets because I don’t want to be stuck with an expensive non-refundable purchase if the passport fell through (it has been anything but smooth). Let me tell you, the DAY I get my new passport in hand we WILL buy our tickets to Paris, and begin planning our visits to the ends of the earth.