Tapestry

10:30pm I'm lying on the bed listening to Andrew (across the room) Skyping with a pastor from Arusha, Tanzania. With time zone differences and different schedules it's taken weeks and months for them to connect face to face over internet. It sounds like a good conversation... I can hear excitement and passion for similar visions from both sides of the screen. Is this the position we've been waiting for Abba? It's smack dab in the heartland of Andrew's boyhood dreams and later working reality. My twelve year old sponsorship. And Andrew's and my first trip together to visit Elizabeth seven years later. I can't help being excited when I see God at work. We've been praying and waiting and watching and studying, wondering where it would all lead. Many times we've been in the dark or doubted about specifics though buoyed by numerous confirmations all along the way.

At the Wycliffe Christmas dinner I heard story after story of people who got to the field years or decades after they had joined the organization or planned on going. I've wondered at God's timeline and if counseling missionaries overseas would be put on the shelf while we raise young kids and have work to do here. A part of me would be relieved and happy to settle and invest here where we are. I've grown to love New Zealand and so many people here. We've just bought a beautiful home in Hamilton. Ultimately though, my heart yearns for God's best. I don't want to chase adventure, nor do I want to grow “at ease in Zion” forgetting that the picture is bigger than my life today or raising children or counseling. God is at work reconciling individuals, families, communities, churches, nations, countries and the world to Himself. God's flooded my life with blessings but they are all from Him and for Him and leading to Him. He's been tender with me in step by step getting me ready for every new journey and transition. I see him getting Zeke and Tazara ready too. The same God who holds my hand and prepares the way before me will take my children by the hand and equip them for the journey. I feel first kicks and I pray for the babe growing inside me wondering what his or her life will hold. I'm glad God's brought us to this one bedroom unit in the backyard of “Nana and Granddad”. He knows best how to situate us in a place to rest, grow as a family and seek His heart for the way ahead. So glad you see the whole picture Abba! Thy will be done today and tomorrow and next week, month, year...