For a moment.

I can't remember the last time I've felt like this. 

It was a special day today. 

As I was playing volleyball with some of the counselors and church members - the Ukranian sunset as our backdrop - something hit me.....

Hard to explain but,

I felt such peace. 

An overwhelming peace, that honestly may have brought tears to my eyes. 

Not an inch of stress. Not thinking about home, bills, job, money, not thinking of what I was going to do in the weekend. Not even thinking about my future.

I was in this moment. 

Laughing. Smiling. Making jokes with new friends. 

A thought ran across my mind in the middle of the game. 'I was so far from home. On the other side of the world. What am I doing here? The team I traveled with - I only met them 2 months ago. And everyone here in Ukraine, I've met them a couple of days ago. Yet here I am. Playing a game of volleyball. In a small city - In Ukraine.'

God knows I've been dealing with stress over the past 2 years. It's unbearable at times. It's a constant load on my shoulders. It wears me down. Floods my thoughts. It distracts me so much. I thank God everyday for the 4 most important people in my life. I think about them all the time. They make me happy. They help me get through everyday. 

I am learning something new everyday while I'm here. Not just in the cultural sense but in the spiritual sense as well. Gods love is overwhelming. I don't deserve it. I really don't. My mind can not comprehend why God is so good to me. Yet I find myself sometimes living my life as if he did not even exist. 

Someone might read through the pages of my life and question if God really is good. The truth is who am I to say if he is or not. What have I done to earn the position of deciding whether God is good or not? 

He loves me. 

I'll admit I may not understand it at times. But then again, I don't think I'm supposed to. Just a thankful heart really. My thanks to Him is to worship Him. To obey Him. To love Him. To serve Him. 

He chose to save me. 

The only thing I contributed to my salvation was my sin. I have nothing to brag about. 

It's because of Him. 

God, thank you. 

Seriously.