It’s a common misperception that only the most spiritually devout person can cross oceans and mountains to do this sort of thing, and it’s not a viewpoint that I’m not keen on upholding. The truth is that we were so comfortable in our life that in order to do anything of worth we needed to leave the nest, so to speak.

What about those moments when you’re honing in on a dragon? What happens when it’s taking all your concentration and discipline to defeat that which is in front of you? How do you make sure your back is safe?

When jumping off the couch too quickly means twisting an ankle or pulling a muscle, requiring two weeks of care and restoration, one can start to feel a little worse for the wear.

We actually have more to learn and less to offer than we think, and the sooner we learn that the more useful we can be.

Well, this month has been a whirlwind and I’m in need of a fairytale ending, preferably not Grimms.

As I’ve consistently said, this past year I’ve found myself in some of the darkest, coldest places internally; it’s been a real challenge at times. But even when I find myself in that cold place, I have still felt the warmth of the sun on the back of my neck.

Never in my wildest imaginations could I have dreamed up what this year held for both me and my family.

Making sense of the world around us is sometimes a dizzyingly overwhelming task. I for one rely upon intuition a lot. But what happens when feelings lead us up the garden path?

So how, as adults, do we achieve small moments of awakening without walking the wrong path for far too long? Well, first of all, we have to admit that most of the time we do not see the whole picture.

I come bowling in with my unadjusted eyes, squinting in the dark, and then writing about it for everyone to read. Bit of a cocky move really.

Some of us are blessed with the ability to hunt out the ugly parts of ourselves, name it, and agonisingly carve it out. Some of us aren’t.

These people might feel like they’re caring for one small team, but their care and preparation are undoubtedly having a wider effect that we may never see or comprehend.

Do you know what’s worse than looking demons in the eye? Looking at the darkness and realizing that it’s just my own fallen state. That’s a tough one to come back from.

The thrill that I felt when I was finally walking off of the plane into Budapest was crazy high. The work that we had done for 3 years had led us to this moment, and it gave me the ultimate sense of achievement.

I’m sure this isn’t going to be a new and strange story for you. It’s a fairly common struggle for western women these days.

It’s one thing having to lie in the bed we made, but every morning Minna comes bounding out of her room toward ours for a quick snuggle in that bed, literally and figuratively.

If I can take the time to understand why things work a certain way here in Budapest, and if I can be open to seeing the good in it, perhaps I will settle in more wholesomely.

Not gonna lie it’s been hard. Which serves me right, because I was warned multiple times not to underestimate how difficult it was going to be.

Somehow, we Christians have fewer gods than the Hindus but more ways of dividing ourselves as followers. Typical.

Unsettling is hard. But I promise you it will be the best thing you ever do.