For such a time as this...

She was independent from birth. She was born 14 days after her due date. Then she made her entrance into this world in about 2 hours. Her timing. Her way. Nothing has changed.

She informed us when she was about 6 that she was going to be a missionary. I didn't even know that she knew what a missionary was. But that was what she was going to be. Then when she was a little older she decided that she was going to be a nurse. That was how she was going to get on the mission field. We went to a concert at our church given by an up and coming artist. She met the singer. They talked for a second. She asked for her autograph. The singer wrote these words: "To a little girl on her knees. Serve Him well." We were blown away.

She did a Bible Study when she was in 1st grade. It was an in-depth children's study of what the mom's were learning upstairs. She went every week. She did her homework. Under protest. But she did it with my help. We were studying Romans. At dinner, her father was speaking with her about an "incident" that had happened that day. In the middle of the lecture, right on cue and in context, she informs all of us that: "therefore, there is now no condemnation...". Again, we were blown away.

She went with her Daddy to Ecuador on her first mission trip. She was in 7th grade. We all four went the next year. Then one day after high school service, she met her Daddy in the hallway of church. She informed him that there was an available spot on the 6 week trip going to Peru. She was in 9th grade. She said she felt like she was supposed to go. She went. For all that time. Me. Blown away.

We were sitting at a soccer game the next year. A friend was with her. He told her about a trip that he was going on with another church. To do kids camps and sports camps. She was intrigued. It was to South Africa. The glimmer started in her eyes. She had that look. And a few months later, she boarded a plane with a group of adults and one friend her age. They flew to another continent. Without us. She had a blast. We were left home. Blown away.

The summer before her senior year she had another opportunity. Back to another part of South Africa. She met young people from a church over there. She lived with them for a month. She learned and she watched. And her heart was hooked. She has stayed in touch with them. She left for college and decided that her heart was for the abused. The abandoned. The unwanted children. She changed her major to Social Work. We have a friend. He told us about an internship opportunity. She inquired. She applied. And last week they answered. She can go and serve and love and fill her heart to overflowing. And now we stand here again. Blown away.

She can leave as early as 8 weeks from now. She might stay as late as the end of July. Living in the safe houses built for these children. The ones her heart loves already. She can live there with them. Everyday. For weeks and weeks. Amazing. 

I don't have all the details yet. I don't know the whole plan or the cost or the support needed. But I know this... I am blown away by this young woman. By her heart. By her passion and her courage and her willingness to know what she wants to do. She still blows me away. She knows who she is even when others question. She is sure of what she wants even when others don't understand. She is still stubborn and still strong willed. She doesn't always make the choices we would make. She doesn't care to fit the mold or play the part or even care what other people think of her. She has a plan. She has a passion. And she is willing to go see what it looks like and if it fits. Not because it is the thing that all the other church kids are doing. Not because she can spend the summer with all her friends. But simply because it is her heart and she wants to know if that is really where He is calling her.

So stay tuned. I will let you know when she has all the details. She will need support. She will need prayer. She will need encouragement. She will need people to rally around her and help her get there. But she believes with all her heart that this is her time. She was born for this. She was called to this. And she is willing to go. And we just stand here. Blown away...

"And who knows but that you have come 

to the kingdom for such a time as this 

and for this very occasion?" 

~ Esther 4:14 (amplified)

Stop and be still...

I cannot believe that we are half way through March already. Life has been so busy lately. I have not had the time to write or blog. I have tried to remain faithful to my morning quiet time but I have to be honest... it has been quick and short.

Isn't that the scheme of the enemy. Get us so busy that everything else seems to take priority. That the intentional time of just sitting at His feet gets pushed to the side. I have been studying for my Bible studies and reading a really good book at a painfully slow pace but none of that can take the place of simply being still and listening.

So today, I am curled in My Chair. Soaking in His goodness. Listening to His voice. Reading His word and writing the thoughts in my heart. I have been so distracted lately that I did not even realize the longing in my very soul for uninterrupted communion...

I think that sometimes we are so caught up in the craziness and the busyness and the needs and the wants that we forget that the longing that we feel is not for sleep or for rest but for Him. To sit in His presence. That is where we find the rest we seek. The answers we need. The time management we lack. It is there that we are filled to overflowing. It is there that we are blessed and loved and found. It is in the being still that we realize that we know.

There are so many big things coming around the corner for our family. Every one of us has big decisions to make. Big opportunities to pray about. Lots of things to sort out. We each need to discern between the good and His best. All together it can be overwhelming. But as I sit here this morning my perspective is coming back. The stillness is calming my soul. The closeness is so sweet and so real.

So today, sweet friends, stop and be still. His love never fails. He never gives up. He never lets go. No matter how much we spin ourselves out of control and into the crazies, we cannot escape His grasp.

Rest in that truth today. It is in the being still that we realize that we know the One who can give us immeasurably more than we could ever ask or even imagine...

"Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name. 

Look to the Lord and His strength, 

seek His face always." 

psalm 105: 1,4.