Adjustments

When I was living at home, my parents would always go to the chiropractor for adjustments. They'd need to get all their lovely vertebrae put back into place. It's amazing what the simplest and quickest adjustment can change - a slight pop and crack (ugh, I dislike the chiropractor because of these things), and boom, you're a brand new you!

• Seeing only signs in Hanguel, and on the rare occasion, a mixture of English and Hanguel -      adjustment.
• Living in a place 14 hours ahead of what I'm used to (I live in the future yo!) - difficult and elongated adjustment.
• Students coming in the door, late to class, bow respectfully - a welcome adjustment.
• Having a new roommate with quite a different personality than me - adjustment.
• Encountering very few who understand anything said in English - slight adjustment to say the least.
• Using won instead of dollars (and feeling quite rich when I have a bill that says '10,000' on it) - adjustment.
• Trying to use the subway and read the routes written in Hanguel - adjustment.
• Having no cell phone, so my only method of communication is email - unwelcome adjustment.
• Getting complimentary side dishes with free refills at restaurants - delicious adjustment.
• Speaking slowly and clearly - adjustment . . . lol.
• Trying to explain something in English to someone who is learning English, both of us getting frustrated and then laughing when we figure it out - adjustment.
• Teaching class at 7 a.m. and at 8:35 p.m. - ugh, adjustment.
• Teaching adults like elementary students but still remembering they are adults with adult lives - adjustment. 
• Sitting in my room, forgetting I'm now in a country where I'm the minority, hearing children laughing and yelling outside, and then . . . all I hear is Korean - surreal adjustment.
• Living in a city of about 10.4 million people - haha, uh, adjustment.
• Continuing to learn to lean on God and to trust Him in all things, on the good days and bad days - no adjustment needed. It's a life-long growing process.

Coming to live in South Korea, I've gone through many adjustments. They definitely haven't all been as quick as a visit to the chiropractor. However, they, like a visit to the chiropractor, are beginning to make me a brand new me - not in a bad way, but a good and growing way. Yeah, I'm growing - definitely not taller and hopefully not wider, but still, growing, continuing to push my way toward the Son, reaching up and reaching out. And maybe, just maybe, I can help others grow with me.