Face the Cons.

Set Goals. Make Decisions.

Face the Cons.

I must admit: doesn’t seem like there are that many cons in my decision to study abroad in light of the incredible experience it has been.

Coming from the countryside of Indiana, being dropped alone into a capital city of 2 million people in a new country and culture and continent without knowing a single person is… a stretch. You know no one, and no one knows you. You know no roads, no roads know you.

Not having your own car parked outside to get you where you need to go when you need to go (driving on the left side of the road btw) has been… a stretch.

Paying $4.80 for a 600ml (20oz) bottle of Gatorade is… a stretch. (#getitonsaleatWoolworthsfor$3.42)

Learning the Australian educational system, navigating a new “uni," and feeling like an idiot upon learning the cultural norms the hard way is…. a stretch.

Spending a birthday 9,090 miles from home solely with people you’ve known for only two months, while waiting for some physical, palpable, non-digital mail to arrive at your new address can... stretch you a bit.

“It may seem strange

How we used to wait for letters to arrive

But what's stranger still

Is how something so small can keep you alive” —Arcade Fire

Being so far away from everyone and anyone you’ve ever known, and missing out on things happening in your homeland... Being separated from your closest friends and family by nothing less than some mass of the diameter of Earth can be…. stretching.

Point being: Don’t fret about the cons pervading the decisions you’ve made in faith. Or worse, don't let them keep you from setting worthy goals and making choices in the first place. Consider them stretches — good stretches.

If we continually fret about the downsides of the choices we could make or the choices we have made, the progression toward our goal will suffer. (—see previous posts, ya’ll)

Just remember the bigger picture, and be in it for the long haul.

In the words of Jim Elliot,

“Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.”

And, perhaps Ecclesiastes 11:4 contains the Biblical cure for perfectionistic indecisiveness:

“Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant.

If they watch every cloud, they never harvest.” (NLT)

So get out there. Set goals. Make Decisions.

Face the Cons.

Click here for Picture Album #3