Suprises...

56 Days and Counting!!!! I will be back in the United States of America on July 6th....I am very excited! BUT....I was in for a surprise yesterday.

I just spent seven days traveling alone (which I would highly recommend) in Paris and Athens. Please check out my pictures by clicking here (Paris) and here (Athens)! But this is where the surprise as I was flying back into Geneva.

Let me give you a little history. I have left Geneva several times this year weather it was for a little holiday or for work stuff. Every time I returned it was a little depressing. After you have been away from home you are just ready to get into your house...shower and relax where you feel most comfortable...and up until now Geneva has never been that for me. To be honest it has been a place of growing pains.

But...yesterday, as I flew in I had just woken up to see the Alps out of the plane window. WOW! It is always nice to see them when you have been away for a while. Then all of a sudden I was overwhelmed with the Holy Spirit.

I am not quite sure the intricacies of what God was trying to communicate to me. The one thing that I did come away with was the understanding that Geneva has been a place of tremendous growth for Ashley Marble...and it is deeply transforming- developmentally as a person and spiritually. At that moment I was able to look from the outside in to see a little of what has happened over the past 8 months.

I think it was a culmination of being away, alone for seven days and then returning to a place that for the next two months will be home.

Lately, I have realized that I haven't been completely me in Geneva. There are many sides to Ashley Marble that just haven't come out here. I think this is due to things like the language constraint, money constraint, the lack of independence, and so on. While I was away, for the first time, I really felt like myself! I am not sure why...other than I didn't have some of the constraints like money...language for the most part (I was around TONS of Americans..and I LOVED it!)...I was completely independent being on my own. Lately I have been really trying to get back to being me..and I think my trip helped!

All of this makes me really exited to finish strong these last 56 days! It also makes me really excited to enter my natural element in the states being a different person! Wow...what will that look like? Two worlds colliding...I am sure it will in itself bring about more growing pains...but hopefully in a refreshing way!