The Lord is My Shepherd

Psalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters

he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

My apologies for the emotional-ness of my last post. I guess hard days are to be expected. It's all part of the journey. The Lord has been reminding me recently that HE is my SHEPHERD and is going to continue to take care of me! Just yesterday He overwhelmed me with reminders of His love and provision:

• Psalm 23... my psalm of the year (since I'm 23 and all...)
• A delightful package from my dear Aunt Rose - complete with pictures of my adorable little cousin with Uncle Rege tucked inside a cute Thanksgiving card, chocolate-flavored coffee, a Christmas CD (the first song is by Michael Buble), Scripture cards and bookmarks to use at school, and a nativity set that I can post on my walls the day after Thanksgiving!
• A long-lost birthday card that Nana & Papu sent to me nearly two months ago
• Special food from my students - non-spicy dok bogi and fruit salad
• A link to the Hippopatomus for Christmas song from Zac (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtqIM_bPTws&feature=related). Totally made me smile...
• A refreshing and encouraging lunch conversation with teachers
• Good classes (my Wednesday trouble-maker behaved perfectly)
• A big, beautiful apple from one of my co-teachers (I guess I really am a teacher... apples are sometimes the best gifts!)
• Encouraging emails
• Extra time to work on my essay (two classes were cancelled unexpectedly)
• A reminder that I am blessed with some very thoughtful and compassionate friends
• Delicious macaroni & cheese for dinner
• A new nickname from Janis
• A good small group meeting
  

Yeah, Wednesday was a much better day. I know that tough days of homesickness are to be expected with the territory of living overseas for an extended amount of time. I'm so thankful for the Lord's lovingkindness in the midst of those times... and for the people He has surrounded me with - here and at home.

And now... it's time to return to my essay writing. I am (Lord-willing) going to be emailing my essay submission tomorrow for a contest that is being held for Guest English Teachers in Korea. I'm not banking on winning, just attempting to honor the wishes of my supervisors and learning a TON at the same time. It is such a useful exercise to process all of these thoughts about Korean culture, Korean education, and challenges/conflicts I've encountered throughout my time here. It's going to be a late night tonight (already is...), but I really want to get it finished, especially since tomorrow is the deadline! Good thing tomorrow is Friday... :)

until next time...
~Holly

P.S. I highly recommend reading Hind's Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard. What a blessing and encouragement it has been to me over the past two weeks! Perhaps more to come on that some other time...