Smile, Serve, Love

Today I finished up my India Journal and I figured I should wrap up a few things on here as well.

After a few delays, flight cancellations, a ton of airport security, and my last rupees I made it back to the United States safe and sound and without ever getting sick! :)

I have been thinking a lot about India and what I learned there. I learned so many things and I would like to share a few with you.

1. Happiness is a choice, it is not determined by your circumstances. You can choose to be grateful for what you have and to find joy in small things.

2. The children taught me how to love wholeheartedly, without hesitation, and unconditionally. I learned that I can love someone without even knowing them.

3. I learned to have a bigger perspective. I learned that I shouldn't just focus on myself all the time, I need to look around and lift up the people I see.

4. I learned that beauty can be found anywhere, even in -- no --especially in "dirty, crowded, smelly" India.

5. I learned to be grateful for so many things, I have been blessed with so much. I am grateful for clean water, flushing toilets, showers, America, modern medicine, and my education, to name a few.

6. I learned that smile, serve, love is my new motto :)

I went to India to serve, to try and help in any way that I could, but I came away with so much more than I gave. I learned that when we are serving the Lord and doing his will He blesses us in more ways than we could imagine.

Here is a quote about India that someone shared with me:

"There are some parts of the world that, once visited, get into your heart and won't go. For me, India is such a place. When I first visited, I was stunned by the richness of the land, by its lush beauty and exotic architecture, by its ability to overload the senses with the pure, concentrated intensity of its colors, smells, tastes, and sounds. It was as if all my life I had been seeing the world in black and white and, when brought face-to-face with India, experienced everything re-rendered in brilliant technicolor." -- Keith Bellows

India is in my heart and my heart is in India. I can see in technicolor now; I have been so blessed!

Smile, Serve, Love

love,

mary katherine