Entry #3
May 24, 2010
Phonm Penh, Cambodia
I will be honest. We returned from ministry today and I was tired. I didn’t want to do much, so my plans were to eat dinner and watch a movie, in front of the fan. But then I realized I had a blog to write. So here I am. Pressing in. And since we are being honest, I am glad.
I am at KFC (it’s true they have one here) enjoying the air conditioning and free wi-fi. I wish I could say I was enjoying the chicken, but I ate my PB and J before I came. The budget is tight these days with the extra two weeks at the end of the race in the Philippines. So, I went through my normal routine of checking my email, facebook, and blog comments. And I was met with a treat. A blog comment. I love blog comments. But this one was especially profound, it was from my dad. And the words still ring in my ears like a sweet melody. He told me he was proud of me and that he knew God was too.
There were many moments that happened today that were worthy of how God worked in my life today – elephants, the disaster at the post office, the conversation about baptism with Somorn, or the discussion with my small group of English students about the red Buddhist bracelet (it wards off evil). But the comment from my dad speaks volumes to me. My dad is not a man of many words. I ask him questions to get him to talk. And what I have found out from those questions, is that he isn’t a fan of questions! And that’s okay. It actually makes this comment all the better, because God chose my earthly father to speak into my identity as a daughter today. God chose the man that I first identified as father, to tell me words of encouragement.
God spoke those same words to Jesus as He came out of the water of His baptism – “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:11) God chose the words, I am proud of you, to send Jesus off into His ministry. His ministry of healing and casting out demons and teaching and loving those that were impossible to love. Those words were enough to change the course of history. And they are enough for me as well.
There is a song by Jake Hamilton called Embrace that speaks of this very thing. He repeats “its all gonna be okay” over and over again. And I have to tell you that those 5 little words have given me great comfort these past few weeks. The rest of the song explains how it actually will all be okay, “For I know if your eye is on the sparrow, then your heart is on me.” Matthew 10:31 tells me not to fear because I am more valuable than many sparrows. One thing I have noticed about sparrows is that they are all over the world. They are common. And I wonder if that is what gives this verse its weight – “Not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.” (Matthew 10:29) There are many, and not one goes down without the Father knowing. And yet, His heart is on me, for me. And He is proud of me. He let me know today, through the man that shares His title – My Father.
It’s all gonna be okay!
