I think the initial adjustments to living in Europe have been made—I’ve mostly figured out how to use the public transit system, I’ve learned the important lesson of always carrying your reusable grocery bag with you, and I’ve learned that bikes always have the right of way over pedestrians. These are all great lessons, however, these are all the tangible things. As I continue to dive into the culture and intentionally learn to live here, the lessons I’ll be learning aren’t always so tangible. I think they’ll be spiritual lessons, emotional lessons, and relational lessons, and that they’ll have a lot more to do with my attitude than my actions.
One of the core values of my team is to be a continual learner. We are encouraged to stay teachable, learn from those around us, stay astute to what the Lord is whispering, and to become a student of the city. As I move forward in establishing my life here, my prayer is that I learn how to practice this on a daily basis. Early on in my time at Biola I was introduced to David’s prayer in Psalm 25:5:
“Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”
I’ve found myself often praying this recently. This is what I desire for the attitude of my heart as I approach the city. The Lord delights in this city. I’m eager to see what I’ll learn here, but even more so, I can’t wait to see what He’s going to do here.