Skip to main content

Time Marches Forward

I finally was able to visit the area I grew up this past weekend. Oh -- what a joy to see faces of love once more!
However, something was different this visit -- me. Although I haven't lived in Oregon for a number of years, visiting alway made me feel as though I never left. I assimilated so easily back into that life. But here is the thing about time, it continues to march forward. My life was rocked and shattered in Uganda. No way will I ever be the same. And as much as I changed, so did those I once knew better than I knew myself. That doesn't mean I love these people any less, but it makes me come to reality of my visitor status.
After church on Sunday, I went to my favorite little cafe. They have the best breakfast burritos in town! Growing up, we went there almost every week. As I sat there eating my burrito, I pondered the trip. In no way was I hurt or upset, but I noticed a difference. I knew exactly what it was. Everyone else did too! Most people at church said, "you have grown up!" Africa has a way of doing that to people. I grew up and they moved on. God called us all down paths of His glory. He is moving us all to places to make His name known. And now things are different. As I dwelled on these things, the song One Thing Remains came on the radio. It is a song about God's love -- how it will hold us through everything, and how it is the only thing that will ever remain the same. Obviously, it was the song I needed to hear.
Time marches forward. People change. Things we once controlled will some day be beyond our grasp. But God is still God (from the message at church-- God ties themes up subtly in my life on a regular basis). His love is constant. Even if my life changes, I know He remains the same. Sometimes, that is a hard pill to swallow. We want to blame God for the hard things in our lives, but we must remember that God is still God.
Now, please do not get me wrong! I still deeply love the area I grew up, and I highly respect those I saw! But things are different now. And it is for God's glory.
I look forward to visiting again soon. Maybe taking more time and sharing my heart with those I love.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

State of Praise

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say rejoice.” Philippians 4:4 reminds us to have a spirit of praise in all circumstances. It does not say to rejoice in the good, when ministry is smooth and all things are going the way you pictured them. Nor does it say to give up in times of struggle. It says to ALWAYS rejoice, to be in a spirit of praise through thick and thin! The past few weeks have been a battle. Living in Uganda means you are surrounded by images of poverty, brokenness, and death on a daily basis. That alone will encourage anyone to lose a spirit of praise. But of course, that is not all I deal with. Lately, it seems like everything is coming down at one time. Dear people in my life are struggling, including people back in the States. These are people who I use to be there to hold a hand through difficult times, and now they are going through something else and I am halfway around the world. A couple have confessed they wished I were there instead, and no matter how much ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Would You Go With Me?

In 5 short days, I will be heading back to America. I must say, going home proves to be a much larger leap of faith than when I came here to Uganda. I had three weeks to prepare. I knew that God was calling me, so I dropped everything and came. Now, I am returning to basically nothing. Sure, God continues to provide for me, and I know He will continue once I land and jump back into American life. However, I am still nervous. For the past couple months, I have been praying that God would go before me and pave the way. A few days ago, a friend of mine was praying over my return. She prayed that God would not only go before me, but go with me. Those words struck my heart, and I have been mulling over them for the past couple days. I cannot count how many times I have prayed God would move before me -- to work in hearts of those I would be meeting -- to guide me through a new adventure. Yet rarely, if ever, have I prayed that God would go with me, where He should be in the first place. I ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Time I Made My Dog Puke

  Fridays are my day off. They generally consist of me barricading myself inside my compound with my pups. We may do a number of things, but usually it is a whole lot of nothing! As Thursday evening approached, I looked forward to my Friday. Oh, I would nap and maybe binge watch something stupid, but most importantly, never get dressed! This dream crashed when I realized my house was the only one not receiving power. This meant calling the electric company and corralling my enthusiastic lab away from people who are terrified of him. But we did it. This brings us to noon. I still had half the day to relax. I sprawled out on my bed and put on an episode of Psych, one of my favorite shows. I get ten minutes into the episode, when I hear Teddy barking at the gate. He is such a wonderful watchdog. He has different barks that I have learned, which help me to know if I should respond or not. He will give off a warning, but if someone pushes the bounds, he produces a sound so intimidating ...
Post a Comment
Read more