Prayer & Praise
- Praying for visas to be approved
- Thankful that our work permits have been approved for PNG
- Thankful Kendall's board exam is done - woohoo!
- Language study (we need to buckle down and do it!)
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The medicines and sutures we ordered for Kudjip arrived - now to re-pack them!
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The Rest
Well, the week we’ve been waiting for has come… And gone… Six months ago when we submitted our visas to the Papua New Guinea government, we thought we’d have them in plenty of time. However, here we are on the last day of the week we were planning to fly to PNG with no visas. Nada. And that’s hard because we’re excited, and it’s okay because God knows and is in control.
This tension between calling and resting is not new. In fact, this matter of timing for leaving is really so trivial, sometimes I feel guilty that I even feel this tension at all. But here I sit in a period of pausing and resting, and my anxious soul doesn’t like it. I want to GO, I want to DO - but right now I’m called to STAY. It’s interesting that many of us hate this feeling of stagnancy so much, that we pack our days to the brim in order to avoid it. I think that’s because we’re part of a bigger narrative.
Our current story, for those of us who believe in Jesus and hope that he will come again, is filled with that tension. We’re made for heaven and a perfectly fulfilling relationship with Jesus and each other - but here we stay. Here on Earth we rest, and in that place of what feels like stagnancy our tricky hearts have time to fill with doubt and worry. It doesn’t feel good, it feels out of sync with the rest of our lives - lives of purpose and direction.
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Waiting vibes.
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At a women’s event recently, the speaker spoke to this exact tension and my exact struggle. I love when that happens. She shared the quote below:
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"There is no music during a musical rest, but the rest is PART of the music. In the melody of our lives, the music is separated here and there by rests… God brings a sudden pause in the choral hymn of our lives, and we lament that our voices must be silent. We grieve that our part is missing in the music that continually rises to the ear of our Creator. Yet how does a musician read the rest? He counts the break with unwavering precision and plays his next note with confidence, as if no pause were ever there.
God does not write the music of our lives without a plan. Our part is to learn the tune and not be discouraged during the rests. They are not be slurred over or omitted, nor used to destroy the melody or to change the key. If we will only look up, God Himself will count the time for us."
- John Ruskin
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What a gift to be given at such a time in our story, a new perspective. What would it be like to gracefully inhabit a pause, fully trusting and looking to God for direction? How can we use this time to look more like Jesus and grow closer to him? Can I pause and slow to allow God to fill this time?
So we are waiting and resting. We still fill up my very gracious parent’s house, building their character and growing them in grace, haha. When PNG approves our visas, we then can send our passports to the embassy to get them stamped - after which we will be cleared for takeoff. Please be praying for us in this time, that it would not be wasted.
And despite the angst-y post, we have not been suffering! We have been able to reconnect with so many family and friends over the last few months. What a foretaste of Heaven! Unlike heaven, we have had many goodbyes as well. We were made for deep and lasting connection, and I’m so thankful that God has promised a future with no more goodbyes. But, for now, we are thankful for the people God has given us. Like my sister-in-law said during a tearful goodbye: This is for the Risen Christ.
And He is worth everything.
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