One less place to call home
It’s strange being back in the UK for the first time since I left in fall 2006.
Four years ago, I hadn’t experienced a year of integrating politics and faith with Sojourners in Washington, DC. Four years ago, I didn’t even care about politics; I’d never heard of Barack Obama, let alone volunteered for his campaign. Four years ago, God hadn’t yet broken my heart for the poor, or stirred me to anger against injustice. Four years ago, I was still figuring out what I was going to do with my life—how I was supposed to weave together the disparate passions and talents I’d been entrusted with.
And most of my friends in the UK have missed out on that part of my life. Many of them haven't seen the last four years of growth and maturing, of heartbreak and healing, of discovering my calling and the joy that comes with that. And I wish they had.
So it’s been a little sad. Much of this past week I’ve been reflecting in a fairly resigned way how we’ve grown apart, how God has led us in different directions, how friendships that used to be so close are no longer so, how people who played such important roles in my life no longer do. I know God is doing great things in each of our lives, and I’m glad for that.
But, like Hong Kong, it seems London is destined to become (and is already becoming) just another place I spent time in—formative years, life-changing years, years when I encountered God through and among some amazing people—but home no longer.
LIGHTS in London
I got to see LIGHTS last night at Monto Water Rats in Kings Cross, London. It's the second time I've seen her this year, the first being in Constitution Hall in DC when she was supporting Owl City. It was definitely a different venue and a different atmosphere: much smaller, more intimate. But it was a good, good gig. I think I love this girl ... 
Here are a few pics:
Gershom, in transition once more
Well … I’m back. Back in London, and back to blogging. It’s been awhile since I’ve had the time, energy and desire to blog: life has been exhausting—good, but exhausting. And so reenergizing (of the sort that required less mental work) took precedence.
Looking back, I don’t think it was the optimal way of doing life. I’ve realized that I need times for processing and writing and recharging to be built in on a much more frequent and regular basis in order to thrive, but for my first year out of school and working full-time, it was a good year.
And now? Well, once again I find myself living up to my pseudonym: Gershom. Once more I tread the well-worn but tenuous steps of transition, the simultaneously exciting and uncomfortable position of not being what sure what comes next but trusting that God knows what he’s doing because more often than not I don’t.
The internship with Sojourners is done. My worldly possessions are boxed and stored at friends’ houses in California and DC. As I write this, I’m sitting next to an astrophysicist on a plane that’s halfway across the Atlantic.
For the next few weeks I’ll be back in the UK, home for eight good years, home to a lot of memories, and a place I haven’t been since I left in 2006. I’ll be catching up with friends, eating at favorite restaurants and visiting favorite haunts, and processing the last year(s). And then I plan to be in Wheaton, Illinois, doing some campaigning for my friend Ben Lowe, who’s running for U.S. Congress (more on this to come), while I also try to figure out next steps.
One thing I know for certain is that the One who guides me and walks with me won’t lead me astray. And that’s enough; for now and for always.
[Oh … if you’re in London in the next few weeks (probably till mid-September), shoot me an email or a Facebook message or a tweet. And if you’re in the Wheaton/Chicago area for the few weeks after that, likewise.]
Links of the Day, January 11
It's Human Trafficking Awareness Day! Tell someone who doesn't know about the 27 million people trapped in modern slavery. And then do something about it!
Check out these awesome pics to start out your week/day:
And then enjoy this cover from Cathy Nguyen and Andrew Garcia:
News
- Whistler's homeless are being relocated ahead of the Winter Olympics.
- The oldest known Hebrew script has been deciphered. Find out what it says here.
- Colt McCoy shows grace and faith in the face of defeat:
Human trafficking
- China claims to have freed over 10,000 victims of human trafficking in the last year.
Immigration
- A new report comes out: immigration reform will ease economic decline.
Miscellaneous
- NBC's Bryan Williams: why Jon Stewart is good for the news.
- GOOD covers the H&M saga.
- For the Angelenos, the fake freeway sign that became a real public service.
- Oh, the places you'll go ... The NY Times lists 31 places to go in 2010.
- As a fantasy geek myself, I can appreciate this from what's fast becoming one of my favorite blogs, YOMYOMF ("You offend me, you offend my family"): "Fantasy gone wrong."
- Some fascinating facts about sneezing.
- Some secrets about London!
Links of the Day, November 9
News
- The House health care bill passes over the weekend, 220-215!!
- Meet Anh "Joseph" Cao, the lone Republican Congressperson to vote for the bill. Here's a statement from his official website. As reasons go, standing up for the poor and uninsured in your district is a pretty good reason for it. And the fact that he didn't back down in the face of GOP threats is pretty admirable too. I think I like Rep. Cao.
- Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall.
- Floods hit El Salvador, killing at least 124 people.
Politics
- Only 1% of Americans are millionaires, but 44% of Congress fall into that category. Foolocracy lists the richest 25 Members of Congress.
Green
Miscellaneous
- Thanks to Liz for this:
- London in 1927:
