baby steps..

10 years ago...

-i never ate sandwiches
-i wanted to puke at the thought of drinking hot water
-i rarely ate vegetables
-i hated walking, running, or most forms of exercise
-i had minus zero interest in learning Chinese
-i thought i was a pretty good Christian
-i didn't like anything that was green, especially avocados (it's green and squishy!)
-i hated asking for forgiveness
-i never thought i would be where i am now (lived in china for 4 years, engaged to the an incredible guy, an auntie, going back to a place i never thought i could love...)

10 years later...
-i just ate a sandwich for lunch because i was hungry, desperate and i put avocados in there to make it more tasty.
-i find myself drinking hot water when i'm sick because it really does soothe the throat... i think :) or at least it's what i'm advised to do by every chinese student!
-i eat vegetables (not super often, but at least i eat them! hehe)
-i voluntarily to the store because it saves gas and i get to enjoy fresh air outside
-i speak random Chinese phrases all the time and i like it and want to learn more! :)
-i like more green things now- especially avocados (hence i made a huge batch of guacamole today hehehe)
-i find myself needing forgiveness more than ever because of how sinful, selfish, and bitter i can be at times
-i'm at a place where i could have NEVER pictured for myself 10 years ago but so extremely thankful and blessed for journey and baby steps along the way!

speaking of baby steps, a nickname that a teammate once gave me and everyone else on my team was "baby jodi" and it kinda stuck for some reason. not only am i the baby of my family but i also tend to take baby steps towards change. (samson would be the first to tell you that it takes me a while to adjust to new things and change! haha) yes, very small baby steps- ei. it went from liking spam musibi to trying/liking california rolls that had avocado in it, to trying/liking guacamole, to loving avocados! very small baby steps but at least they're steps and i'm thankful that i'm not the same person i was 10 years ago but the Father's working and continuing to mold me into the baby jodi he wants me to be :)

so here i am, eating a sandwich (with huge chunks of avocado- thanks to my brother for buying them) with a ring on my finger... crazy!