Almost every night here in Malawi we have been sharing in a Bible study with our host Loma. Loma is a great woman of faith. The other night she led us to a passage at the end of the story of Noah. We came to the part where God makes a covenant with Noah and all the earth. We dicussed it for a while and for the third or forth time that day I was reminded of my family.
All day long when talking with my team I had been telling stories of family traditions that we grew up with. Some relate to the holidays coming up others just fond memories. I told of the Christmas mornings that my brothers, sister and I would hide at the foot of our parents bed to wake them shouting "Merry Christmas!!!"
I told them about the times when my parents would wake us up just after bed time with a flickering of our bedroom lights yelling something like "TFPP!!!!!!" (For something like Thomas Family Pajama Party), and we would go get ice cream or go to the drive-in movies.
This time I wasn't reminded of a family tradition, but a specific fond memory of my Father. I was probably in 5th grade, and I remember talking as we walked to our car in some parking lot. I was probably responding to the typical question "what did you learn at school today?" I was telling him about how we learned about Global Warming. I remember sharing the frightening news that in 50 years the whole earth would be under water if things did not change… big news for a 5th grader! But very matter of factly my dad reminded me of Noah, and Gods promise. I remember the confidence he said it with that brought me so much comfort.
When I think back to that day it really hits me that that is the first moment that I remember connecting the reality of our God and how he lives today, and his promises are for us. As I sit here in Blantyre, Malawi I realize the importance of that lesson in my life. I don't think I would be on this journey with out it.
So thank you Dad for sharing your confidence in our Gods promises with me.Happy Birthday, I love you so much, and I can't wait to celebrate your 50th birthday again next year!
