By slow lane, I by no means am implying that I am ever bored with three small children running around. It is like operating a small zoo around here. Lots of feeding and cleaning up of poop to do. We are waiting on the Lord right now, something we are often found doing, He enjoys teaching us patience and trust.
Alan is still waiting for full-time work to pan out somewhere. Of course, I know the Lord has a plan for us, and that as we wait He already has the perfect place for us. Waiting on the Lord for us is like being in the slow lane. We know we are going somewhere, we have perfect trust that our destination is somewhere ahead of us, it is just taking forever to get there. As two first-born children who are both type A personalities, waiting is not something that comes naturally to either one of us. But as I said, it is a lesson that the Lord has placed in front of us numerous times over the course of our last 12 years together, and so we are getting much better at it:)
The distraction of three small children helps....a lot. My goal of blogging at least once a week has turned into once a month. And time flies. We thought April would be the month to find a job....and April came and went. The same with May and now the same with June. Don't get me wrong....we are anything but discouraged. It is a long road, but one that is continuing to build our character and draw us closer to Christ. It causes you to focus on being thankful for the things that matter. Our relationship to one another, for instance. I could never have asked for a more wonderful husband and father than Alan, he is my best friend. And our three kids, who if anyone knows them, are packed full with personality:)
We recently had good friends from India visit. They have been in the states now for 4 years and are heading back to India to minister in their own country. It was good to see them again. I actually have only ever known them in the states, since we were in India while they still attended school here. Alan met them in India years ago. I was reminded again of how much we have to be thankful for. And I missed India a lot. Our fellowship with them, drinking tea, talking and having them cook us an authentic Indian dinner brought a lot of memories back. My house smelled like India again. I was reminded of all of the amazing sights, sounds and smells of that country.
There is something about India that draws you in and is hard to let go of. The people, the clothing, the food, and the culture are almost addictive. And being a Christ follower in that country is a unique experience. It is easier there. You see the evil presence in this world and sense spiritual battle up front and close. As a Hindu nation, the presence of evil permeates the streets. We depended on the Lord for everything, including our personal safety on a daily basis. Fellowship with other Christ followers was intense and intentional. And no one who openly claims to be a Christian over there is a 'nominal believer'. There is no such thing, since you are putting your life on the line in a sense to follow Him.
In our country, it takes being in the slow lane to cause us to rely on the Lord, really rely on Him, for everything. It is still nothing like being in India, since that is such a hostile nation. And interestingly, by hostile I only mean they do not welcome believers, especially those trying to spread the gospel. The people of India, all of the people, despite their religion, are wonderful. I remember visiting a poor village area where we were offered food and coconuts to drink from. These people had less than nothing, and offered to serve us and give to us. That spirit of hospitality is just not seen here.
And so we wait, and waiting is good. Waiting is hard, don't get me wrong, but over the years I have learned that it is very good. And we are blessed beyond the temporal things of this world.
No comments:
Post a Comment