GULF OF FINLAND

It's strange to think that no matter how far you run, or haw fast you travel the world, at some point, you will always come to the edge of the water. There are so many amazing things I still wish to see in this world, but there is nothing quite like coming to the end of a continent, dipping your toes in a body of water that stretches across the world and realizing that life is far more grand than I will ever have the capacity to understand.

Such a time was the evening of our first night in Estonia.. The sun was setting and from our post up on the castle wall, we could see a large, blue mass melting into the horizon- the Gulf of Finland. We set out in a hurry, racing against mother nature's time table, determined to see the sunset by the water. When we arrived, our hearts rejoiced.

There was no sand, no seashells, no blooming flowers or tropical palm trees, no pina coladas, tanning oil or hot sunshine inviting you to take off ANY of your clothes; but standing on the edge of the shore, knowing how far my two feet had carried me, and coming to a place where I could literally go no further, I felt like my soul took a deep breath. Not the kind of fleeting breath signifying relief or contempt; but it was as if a part of me had been stretched so much that it had finally come to a place where I was more of who I really am.

There are many people who will say "You find yourself on the road.." and I believe that can be true in many ways. But here's how I am seeing things: There is a very special part of God's heart that longs for adventure and exploration and a part of this has been specifically placed into my own heart, bleeding out into my soul and pushing me forward. I am genetically designed to travel and experience new things. That is why with every new stamp in my passport, every new stranger I meet on a train, every new challenge I grab hold of and every new 'end' my feet arrive at, a piece of 'Jessica' is chiseled away and what's left is all of the marvelous, beautiful and sometimes complicated ways that my heart was meant to live this life.

I had Latvia behind me, Motha Russia to my right, the Baltic Sea to my left and Finland before me; I had come so far and yet the only thing I could do was turn around and head out on another adventure. Some would say "..well what would be the point in that?" I would say.. Everything!  

"For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. The great affair is to move." 

-Robert Louis Stevenson