Hello family and friends.
First, thanks for all of the prayers and words of encouragement on this wild journey home. My squad has been praying Psalm 91 together in the morning and the evening, pleading for the world. An abundant sense of peace has reigned throughout this whole process.
Last night, my parents graciously picked me up from the airport and had a seat prepared for me in the back of the car to put safety/health precautions in place right away. I left my bags in the garage and washed everything as soon as we got home. God blessed me with the best night of sleep since leaving Malaysia and I woke up at a normal time this morning. An answer to prayer to quickly adjust back to the NC time zone.
The Lord is revealing to me the truth of Proverbs 17:22 “Laughter is like medicine, healing to the bones.”
Going from an extremely close knit community to self-quarantine in the upstairs of the house is quite a jolt. I could be angry and stomp around, I could choose to dwell in self-pity — neither of which would be fruitful for reconnecting with my parents. Praise God, He has given us many moments of laughing together at the distance we are keeping and the way we are rearranging the upstairs to make it more cozy.
I now have a card table set on the balcony overlooking the living room and kitchen so my parents and I can dine together. My mom was thoughtful and threw a table cloth upstairs to make it fancy. She also brought me a fruit basket while I stood on the other end of the upstairs to insure I am getting healthy nutrients!
There is also a rocking chair set up in the same area so we can watch movies together and I can participate in their morning devotions. It was really sweet this morning — as soon as I was feeling tired, they began reading together and instead of going to take a nap I stayed out on the balcony and was refreshed.
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father Feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? … See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you? Matthew 6:25-30
After breakfast and the morning devotion, I was able to go for a walk. I left behind my phone — as one of my intentions for this month before coming home was to press into the silence to listen more deeply — and was amazed at the cool temperatures and the beauty of the blooming pear trees. All around I heard the birds singing and felt the gentle breeze rolling through the flowers in the trees. God reminded me of these verses in Matthew — bringing joy and delight in knowing that even in the midst of chaos He is lavishing me with His love.
I hope we all choose to look for the little wild flower moments God gives us each day — and at the end of the day see the collection of individual wild flowers as the most amazing bouquet that could ever be arranged together.
Over the next 12 days I plan to write a new version of the 12 days of Christmas song..here is the start:
On the first day of quarantine the Lord revealed to me, the beauty of birds in pear trees.
I love you all!
Caroline
