I've finally made it home after more than 24 hours on airplanes on Thursday and Friday!
Yesterday, I spent the day attempting to recover from jet lag, a mild sinus infection and a lack of sleep... Then, dealt with some stomach issues overnight last night... I also started the process yesterday of uploading the photos from my trip to Facebook and onto a CD in order to share them with others... I'm still finishing the process today since it's still raining here in E'ville.
I've been thinking a lot the last couple of days about my African Adventure and the effect it will have on the rest of my life and my family's lives...The day I left for Africa, a friend sent me an email with an excerpt from a book that he had been reading entitled Just Courage: God's Great Expedition for the Restless Christian by Gary Haugen, president and CEO of International Justice Mission (BTW, I'm going to pick up this book and read it!)... My friend and I had talked at length about what was leading me to embark on this adventure to Africa, and when he read this passage, he immediately thought about our conversations... I'd like to share it with you, so here it is...
“Indeed, there comes a time in the life of every believer and of every church where a voice inside us simply asks, 'Now what?' After we have been introduced to Jesus and have found peace with God through him. After we have been following Christ and have gradually been surrendering the compartments of our life to him. After we have asked him to redeem our past, to heal our wounds, to reconcile our marriages and to safeguard our children. After we have asked him to purify our thought life, to sanctify our ambitions, to soften our hearts, to comfort us in tragedy, to lead us in wisdom through confusion at work, at home and in our hearts. After he has filled our minds with the Scriptures and taught us his Word, his songs, his ways and his love for us.
After all of that, there is a voice that remains and simply asks, 'Now what?'
This is, I believe, a voice of divine restlessness. This is a voice of sacred discontent. This is a voice of a holy yearning for more. This is the moment in which we can see that all the work that God has been doing in our lives and in the life of the church is not an end in itself; rather, the work He has been doing in us is a powerful means to a grander purpose beyond ourselves.
This is the supernatural moment when the rescued enter into their divine destiny as rescuers.”
This is what I firmly believe led me to embark on this spiritual adventure -- a divine restlessness, a holy discontent... it was a desire to find a "grander purpose" beyond myself -- to reach out for my calling from God...
Throughout my trip, God revealed himself to me in a new and different ways... and, at various times, He revealed how He has been preparing me for this purpose... It's safe to say that this adventure will forever change the way I look at my world and, most especially, its people...
As I take new steps of faith in the aftermath of this trip, I desire most of all the satisfaction of doing life with God in an all-out pursuit of His honor and glory... to willingly let God use me for large or small impact, as He sees fit. This satisfaction comes only as I walk with God, where He is going, using my time, talent, and resources at His bidding, and experiencing Him at an deeper level along the way.
So, now what? Stay tuned for the next steps... with Partners Worldwide... with my new friends and acquaintenances in Africa... and with the rest of life... I plan to continue to utilize this blog to post new experiences with God as I continue to walk right alongside Him in this adventure called life...
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