And so we hit the wall. This past weekend the girls and I
hit a pretty big low. The struggles with the language, the culture, fitting in,
missing family, and health issues all seemed to compound into an ugly burden.
We all faced different things, but we all faced something. Even Jim and Sonia
(our directors) had their struggles: Jim was bed ridden with fever. It was a
rough weekend. But, thanks to God and prayer, we have come out of our slum, our
spirits lifted. Today is even Brynne’s nineteenth birthday. What a blessing. J
----
By Saturday I was burnt up and burnt out. I wanted to curl
up in a whole and die for a while, the introvert in me begging for a recharge.
I rallied what was left of my resilience and crawled out of bed for church the
next morning surly and mean. I thankfully managed to grab a pen on my way out.
I’m glad I did. The sermon was on burdens…God has a sense of humor.
Much of the sermon came from Psalms, was relatively
understandable, and easy to follow. And then came Psalm 55: 6-7 “Oh, that I had
wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest! I would fly away to the
quiet of the wilderness.” Here was what I felt all of us were feeling. What a
plea! To be able to fly away is what we were all starting to long for. Of
course, the pastor didn’t stop there, he also read us verse 16, “But I will
call on God, and the LORD will rescue me.” And so the LORD had spoken.
If we call on Him, He will answer. He will rescue us. We
were desiring wings to fly away, but if we wait we will soar. Isaiah 40:31 “But
those that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they will raise on
wings like eagles; the will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not
faint.” Who wants wings of doves when we’re promised those of eagles?! We can
soar! Things are not always going to be easy, but the LORD promises to be our
restoration, to be there to help us and guide us, to give us strength.
With that I was lifted from the doom and gloom of burden and
was once more reminded the joy of what it is to serve. My sisters each had
their own moments that weekend where God spoke in to their lives, and so we
started the new week exhausted, but no longer ugly. We made it over the wall.
For that I’m little bit proud of us and you should be too. There was a moment
we just sat there and wallowed, banging our heads against our proverbial wall
without getting anywhere, but we all got up and started climbing. We all let
God give us a boost.
He is humbling us, of that I am sure. With each new trial we
are learning from him. We are learning to depend on him. We really can’t do
this on our own, and I’m kind of glad about that. I don’t think I’d want to do
it alone. This way I have three fabulous sisters as my confidants and friends,
and we all have a Father that loves us unconditionally to lead the way.
Though the clouds may be stormy and the road perilous,
tomorrow is a new day, and, if we’re lucky it will be sunny. If not, the LORD
will be there to lead us on, and I’m sure at least one of us remembered an
umbrella. ;)
Kris
Prayer Requests:
Though we are back on the ascent, our health is not.
Please pray for Brynne and the stomach ache and fever she
has been fighting. She is improving rapidly, but we’d like to keep it that way.
J
Jim has also been ill with what looked like Denghi’s. His symptoms
are subsiding, thankfully. Pray they do not return and his fever subsides.
Kris’s back is not enjoying the hills here and has slipped
out of place. Please pray for her relief and pain management.
Also, please pray for the direction of our directors. They have a lot on their plate trying to organize ministry for us. Pray for strength and guidance.
As always, please pray for safety and protection, and that
we may be used by the LORD to do his work.
Thank you all for your continued support and dedication.
With Love,
The STEP Team
No comments:
Post a Comment