abbey abroad :)

Mom, Ashley, and I spent the day in beautiful Ohrid yesterday. It was strange to think that it was probably my last time to go there.

Ohrid has some really beautiful jewelry made from the special Ohrid pearl, and I've been wanting to get some Ohrid pearl jewelry as a special token of my time in Macedonia. I decided on a beautiful ring with a small pearl in the middle, simple silver work on each side.

As I looked at the ring on my finger on the way home last night, I couldn't help but wonder... Will this be a special piece of jewelry that my daughters (or nieces) pass down to their daughters for generations?

And will the story be passed down with it?

The story of a scared 23-year-old girl getting on a plane to go to a far-away place called Macedonia, having no idea how hard it would be, yet incredibly wonderful at the same time, thinking that she was quite grown up but learning that she still had quite a bit of growing up to do, and of her God who proved time and time again that He is faithful... that He takes broken things and fixes them, and He makes everything beautiful in its time.

I guess that's what you call a legacy. My dad loved the word. "Jesus is our legacy," he would say. He's been gone exactly a year today. I still can't believe it most days. But I know the legacy my dear dad left, and it's the same one I hope to leave.

A legacy that's actually not mine at all, but rather... His.

Miss him every day. And every day I'm thankful for Hope.