It’s called “the land of smiles” and for the past two months it has been true to its name, both for the beautiful people who live there and for myself. The kindhearted Thai are quick to offer a respectful bow and a warm smile as they pass us on the street. Their values of hospitality and generosity as a country is evident in the free gifts store owners give us in their shops, in the treats our ministry host buys us, and in the eagerness to help (even a foreigner) in any way they can.
I didn’t realize how much I had missed this country. I didn’t know it was possible to feel so content in one moment before. But when I arrived at my team’s ministry site and was asked to take my shoes off before I entered into the building, I was overcome with emotion. I removed my shoes as the Father whispered to me, “I am going to do great things through you.” I rolled up my jeans as He impressed the question upon my heart, “Are you ready to do some work that will get your hands dirty?” And as my bare feet kissed the polished tile floor, I felt Christ’s peace washed over me as He reminded me, “This is exactly where you need to be. I have you right where I want you.”
It’s funny looking back on it now. How actions so small can evoke such powerful emotional responses. But the picture of me standing bare feet on the tile floor with my jeans rolled to my ankles looking out of the large gaping doors which opened to the rich soil of Thai gardens is vividly pressed into my mind.
I have never felt so close to the earth before. As if I was one with it. As if the same Creator that dreamed up its inexplicable beauty was the very same Creator who dreamed me up. In those first moments of ministry, surrounded by my 14 racers who each individually displayed the uniqueness and splendor the Father had hidden away in them, surrounded by the Thai landscape which in that second seemed to be second only to paradise, surrounded by the tangible peace of the Lord, I realized I was home.
My words fail me when I’ve tried to write blogs which adequately summarize my two months spent in Thailand, but this moment captures the heart of my time there. And as I reflect on it, much of what I loved about those sixty days is captured in the few paragraphs above: oneness, peace, real relationships, hard work, beautiful gardens, home, feeling alive, belonging, intimacy, and tangible moments of the closeness of the Father’s intimate heart.
So this morning in the midst of my reflections, all I can say is “thank you”. Thank you to the Creator for knowing exactly what I need and not hesitating a moment to give it to me. Thank you to my sweet girls for filling me with such joy and for welcoming me into the squad with open arms. And thank you to those of you back home who gave of your money and are still giving of your time to pray for me and contend for me and my squad as we continue to fall deeper into the Father’s arms. Thank you for giving me the ability to live in that beautiful space for the past two months. I can only imagine what these next seven months will carry.
I’m anticipating immeasurably more. <3
