The Year of New Things

The Visit

During summer holidays, my cousin and I would make many trips to her local swimming pool. There was a high dive and a deep end. We would take turns climbing the stairs, walking out to the edge of the board and jumping in. Sometimes I would let the impact of my jump send me to the bottom of the pool and then I would use the floor to push my way back to the surface.

My family and I found ourselves standing at the edge of one of life’s high dives in June of last year. We were moving from London to Delhi.

We took the plunge and it was like an out-of-body experience. I remember that last hour in our London home, scurrying around, then pausing to take in the rooms one more time. We choked back tears before we drove to the airport and flew away. We arrived in Delhi and we sank, pushed down by the heaviness of the change and the weight of all the newness.

Now we’re almost to the end our first year in our new city.

Some days I’m not sure if we’ve surfaced gasping for breathe and exhilarated, or if we’re still somewhere in the water, pushed down by the weight of all that has been new for us.

Our year of new things had held great sorrow but it has also held surprising joy. The God who knows us and calls us to the high dive hasn’t done so to watch us drown but has done so to bless us. We have the sweet, sweet understanding that through it all we’re held, enjoyed, and tended too, and that there are good reasons for the journey we’re on.

Here is a small collection of photographs from our first year.

On Edge

Waiting

Flying

Thunder and Lightning

First Christmas

One Way to Bathe

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Amber

Amber lives in Delhi with her husband and two sons. They have spent their first year in India navigating new places, experiences, and relationships. Prior to Delhi, she lived in London for ten years. Amber grew up in the gentle mountains of East Tennessee. She loves the buzz of city life and equally the quiet of a familiar mountain trail.

Latest posts by Amber (see all)

• The Year of New Things - May 11, 2016