Good as New

Remember how I wrecked my car? Well, she looks better than ever now! :)

Also, God provided me and my roommate with an apartment! It is such an answer to prayer: affordable, no lease required and in the neighborhood we wanted to live. Plus, it is partially furnished. I am also very excited that I will be able to unpack my car (where everything I brought has stayed while I have been in transition). The clutter has been driving me crazy. The rest of my stuff is still in Missouri, which I plan on getting (Lord willing) when I pick up my sister in a few weeks. She is coming to visit me for a month.

My "house parents" are currently gone (to South America actually). I am fish-sitting for them. Speaking of which...

(I just fed the fish. I almost forgot. Good thing I like to share useless information on my blog).

This past weekend was a big event at my home church. I almost went home to be a part of it, but didn't for various reasons. It turns at that Jesus had some divine appointments for me here. One included a meeting with Him and my RF family for a night of worship at a Rehab Center.

Apparently there is this conference that occurs every year called The Summit. This year they are focusing on South Asians (yay!). I am praying about going. I really want to but it is $$$. So we'll see...

Speaking of South Asia, I miss it a LOT (specifically, the people there). I have been dreaming about the future and wondering if God will send me back and what it will look like if He does. I am really interested in advocacy type ministries like Not for Sale and A21. My class on Community Development and Disaster Relief has really got me thinking and I am really excited about what's in store (because God's dreams are so much bigger and better than mine!).

One last thought. I have noticed since my return to the States that I have been (or at least my desire to be) anti-social. Now, I am no social butterfly to begin with, but I have this constant desire to be alone (remnants of reverse culture shock maybe?). I am not sure what the deal is...but, with God's grace, I am working on it. Last weekend I went to a couple's house from church where we ate authentic Chinese and played badminton. This weekend I was invited to a back-to-school gathering and a labor day lunch. My initial reaction to all of them was "no". But I decided to bust out of my anti-social shell and do them all.

Classes!

Today was my first day of classes (have I mentioned this is my last semester?!). I am so excited that classes have started and look forward to what God will teach me through them. I feel like I am finally back into the swing of things. God is still doing some serious and painful work in me, but today was one of the best days I have had since returning to the States. I am currently staying with some friends while I look for an apartment. Another friend and I hope to move into a complex near South Asians.

Over the past few days, the Lord has bombarded me with a particular passage of Scripture. I have heard or read it from the sermon at RF, my small group, my theology book, a book on the Holy Spirit, and a book called The Cry of the Urban Poor. It also "happened" to be part of my daily reading plan and it was the passage my Ethics professor read before class started. I am not sure exactly what God is trying to tell me, but He definitely has my attention. The passage is Luke 4: 14-21 (ESV):

And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Broken

That is the word that describes the events since I have been home and how I have felt because of them. Relationships, cars, health, bodies, phones...they have reminded me continually of the brokenness of this world and our desperate need for Jesus, the only Restorer and Healer. Despite everything, though, God is so good and so faithful. He always brings His Word and His Truth at just the right time. Last Thursday and Friday, I had the opportunity and privilege to attend the Global Leadership Summit hosted via satellite in Cape. Jason Mac was so gracious to invite my sister and I to attend as well as pay our way. I am so humbled and blown away by his willingness to invest in our leadership despite the fact that MH will probably benefit little from it since my sister and I are usually out of town. This was all arranged by God, no doubt, because the conference was just what I needed. It encouraged, inspired and challenged me…and met me right where I am.


One speaker Jeff Manion talked about “The Land in Between,” which was the title of his message as well as the title of his book. The Land in Between is when you are in a state of transition. He used the example of the Israelites who were wandering in the desert on their way to the Promised Land from Egypt (Numbers 11). I am transitioning between living and serving in South Asia and going back to school in Louisville. Even though this is a dry time in life, it is still fertile ground for things to grow. Manion named four things that can grow. One is grumbling and complaining (check—even though I haven’t been doing so vocally, I have been inwardly). Another is having a meltdown (check check). The third and fourth are more positive: God’s provision and God’s discipline. I cannot even recount all the ways God has provided through these trying times. His hand has been so clearly evident showing that He is always in control, redeeming these events for His glory and my good (Romans 8:28). For instance, on the eve on the night when I was supposed to head to Louisville, my car’s battery died. We quickly replaced that (for 50 cents, praise Jesus) and then immediately afterwards the belt tensioner broke (it holds the belt in place and keeps it tight). This very well could have happened on the road or when I was in Louisville. Needless to say, I stayed an extra day in F’town because of the repairs and headed to Louisville on Wednesday.

God’s discipline is a little harder to put my finger on, but I know that this is all to make me more like Jesus Christ. One thing is for sure, if not for all of these things that have completely overwhelmed me and sent me running into the arms of my Savior, I would have fallen into my default mode of self-sufficiency. God, however, would not even give me the chance. Since my return, He has been reminding me of how much I need Him…every moment of every day. He is the reason I live and move and breathe (Acts 17:28). Every good thing I have or am comes from Him (James 1:17). He is too gracious to allow me to become too comfortable and so He has been giving me more than I can handle so that I will trust Him more. It's working.

When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all (Psalm 34:17-19).