Instead of remarking on things that I miss about China, I'll make a note of things that I'm grateful for here at home:

A pair of jeans.  Slipping on a pair of jeans just about made my day when I came home.  This after a summer of uncomfortably fidgeting in skirts.

Cars that stop for pedestrians.  Crossing the street here is actually a welcome relief.  No more Frogger simulations.

A hair dryer.  I learned this summer that going to bed with semi-wet hair does not cause headaches, contrary to a popular maternal belief...

Carrying a purse.  I am by no means a girly girl, but after a summer of carrying a heavy shoulder bag loaded with precautionary items such as anti-bacterial gel, a first aid kit, and water, a dainty purse that sits on my shoulder is quite an indulgence.

Being back at home is still odd.  I was on Clement Street yesterday half thinking I was in China, but the reality of watching diverse groups of people frequenting Chinese businesses (think--a Russian teen buying dim sum) quickly popped my China bubble.  Somehow I liked knowing that I was the foreigner overseas.  I don't feel special coming home to a life where I feel less ordinary.

But we do have an extraordinary God.  And despite my bouts of insecurity, I am learning to understand my infinite worth as His own and to live my life in the full recogition that the God who was so amazingly at work in China is also at work here.

There is no excuse for a ho-hum life, even though I've gone from the incredibly busy to the suddenly simple.  I will continue to relish this appointed time of rest for His purposes.