One Month.

My friends, I have been living and serving in Montréal for a month. I can't believe it's been that long already, but at the same time it feels like I've been here for far longer.

In honour of my one month, I thought I'd share thirty things that I've learned so far. Y'know, like "thirty days has September..." typa thing.

workin' away at Café Origine.

HA. I'm kidding. I mean, I probably could come up with thirty things, because I know I've learned a lot in my first month in Montréal, but it would still take a while to really think of that many. Not to mention this would quickly become the world's longest blog post.

Let's just go with five things. That's a good number right?

1. Transitions are  r o u g h.

You know how sometimes people tell you that something is going to be tough, and then it happens and you're like, 'Oh that wasn't actually so bad!' But then, there was that episode of This Is Us when Randall and Beth start fostering a girl, and Randall says:

"Every time someone's told me something was going to be really hard, it hasn't been that hard. The SATs, biz school, New York City marathon, I study or I train... It's not that hard. I think this might finally be the thing that's as hard as everyone says it is." (emphasis added)

I mean, the first couple of weeks here in Montréal weren't too bad so I was kinda like, 'What's my friend talking about?! Transitioning is fine!' Buuut then all of a sudden it hit me like a ton of bricks and I was like Randall, laying in my bed staring at the ceiling thinking, 'Yeah, okay. Jacob was right.' And I had my moment of, "Joey, Norton, what in the world am I doing here? I don't know French well enough, I'm all alone, this is hard, I can't deal." That was about the same time I wrote my post "Don't Come To Québec".

2. You need to have people in your corner.

God doesn't call us to go through life alone y'all; it's called the family of God for a reason. If I didn't have people in my corner supporting me, praying for me, asking me how I'm really doing, the slump of "What in the world am I doing here? I don't know French well enough, I'm all alone, this is hard, I can't deal" would have lasted far far far longer than it did. But by God's grace, He placed the right people in my corner, and I'm so grateful for them!

3. You're going to miss stuff.

And it's going to make you feel some typa way. And that's okay. It may not feel like it's okay, but it is, because this is how adulthood is going to go... I think. You don't get to see your friends every day because you're not in school anymore. Sure, not everyone moves to the next province to do an internship, but sometimes your friends still live a few hours away so you have to settle for texting every couple days, and FaceTiming every few weeks.
So, you might miss the birth of your friend's baby, Thanksgiving with your family (for the first time in your life), and it might will suck, but it's okay. 

4. You have to get out of your comfort zone, and be open-minded and flexible.

Being flexible is something that's always been difficult for me. I struggle with wanting to be in control, and knowing what's going to happen next, but doing a job that isn't a stable 9:00-5:00 type of thing, I've quickly been learning that each day will look different than the one before it. My only "stable" days really, are Sunday and Monday. Sunday, I know that I go to the cinema for 8:00 to set up for church and then take part in the Sunday gathering. Monday, I know that I meet with Joey at 9:00, and Norton and Joey at 10:00. The rest of the week looks different all the time.
I've also been learning to get out of my comfort zone and be open-minded in terms of doing things that maybe aren't "my style". Like, being the new person, but still being the one to initiate going for coffee with someone from the church. Or going to a City Group meeting for the first time and having to go to an address, knock on a stranger's door, and say, "Hi, you don't know me but I'm Elizabeth. I'm interning with Église 21, and I'm here for City Group."

5. Everything will be different, and that's okay.

And by "everything", I mean everything. You will be different, by nature of the fact that you're in a new place, with different people, going through different experiences than any you've ever faced before. Sometimes the "different-ness" of it all will feel like it's a lot. It will feel like it's consuming you. But it will be okay. Because while everything is different, you can rest assured that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8 - ESV), and it's that truth that will hold you up during the uncertainties of the "different-ness".

With this past weekend having been Thanksgiving, it was hard for me to deal with the realization that for the first time in my life I wasn't going to be at home with my family for a major holiday. But at the same time, it was okay, and I found myself posting a status on Facebook about how thankful I am for my friends here in Montréal. I had THREE different Thanksgiving dinners and celebrations that I attended over the weekend, which is likely more than I would have been a part of had I been at home.

I found Psalm 23:1 coming to my mind this Thanksgiving weekend, reminding me that:

"The LORD is my shepherd, I have all that I need." (NLT)