Us in our Indian face paint!
Can I just say that time flies. Yes, we all know this and we all use this expression frequently, but to truly have the realization that the time we are talking about is our LIFE is an overwhelming thing. I may even start a new saying, “Life Flies”. And it makes me ask some foundational questions. How do we spend that precious time? Do we spend it loving people, serving others, spending time with God? Or do we spend it stressed out, worrying about tomorrow, and how to please ourselves? We are struggling with these things even though we are out on the mission field in some of the most remote, exotic and breathtaking places. We tend to focus on the questions like: Why is it so hot here? What is that smell? Why is it so dirty? Sometimes we even focus on the somewhat deeper questions like: Why does lack of independence and being in a community bother us so much? Why does change bother us so much? And then there is the harsh truthful answer. It bothers us because our minds are always fixed on US. We desire to reach the point where we stop asking any selfish questions and focus on the things that truly matter. We want to see God in every aspect and of our lives no matter where we are spiritually, physically, or emotionally. We want to see that God is in the much of the change that is happening and dwell in that truth.
Right now we are in a season of change and allowing God to move in those changes. Let me explain.
These last two months we have been so fortunate to grow close to our team, The Salty Sheep. But at the end of India we were confronted with change. And my reaction to the change was different than usual. Justin and I were asked to step down as leaders and allow another person to have a chance to lead. We were also moved to a completely new team and are entering into a season of following. Most of you who have spent any amount of time with me know that I don’t like change. In my mind I ask the question, “why would you change something when things are going so good?” Change has always been very hard for me to take. During this last week of change God has given me a new peace about the situation and about how I need to react when change comes my way. Because you know what? Change itself really is not that bad, what is bad is the negative way we react to that change. Before this last week I would waste time being angry and dwelling in all the ridiculous reasons for the change. This is a start for newness in me, in my perception of change, and in how I react to the change that is surrounding me. It is a time of dying to selfishness and embracing selflessness. I am very excited about our new team and where God is going use us in Nepal!
Below is a link to our facebook pictures from India. It is a public link so you don’t have to have facebook to see them. You can just scroll down the side and look through them in the album setting or you can click on the first picture and go through them one by one (by clicking next). (Do not click on “view pictures” it will take you off of this page). They all have captions on the bottom to help you understand what we are doing.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.534604677383.2032335.160200898&l=9d885aa2c6
