The rollercoaster harness
Life lately has felt like a roller coaster. It has gone up and down, taken unexpected turns, gone upside down, suddenly accelerated and then come to a screeching halt. It has even felt like it stopped and went down backwards because the tracks were torn up ahead. A couple weeks ago, as I was praying with my team, suddenly an image came to my mind – yes, we are on a roller coaster, but God is our harness. Not a dinky seatbelt, but an over-the-head, super secure harness that locks you in and doesn’t let you go. Because the harness is secure, I am free to put my hands in the air. I am free to… Read more >>
Until he wipes every tear from our eyes
About a week ago, I was sitting at a park swing reading my Bible when a woman named Rachel and a man approached me. Rachel pointed at me and said, “Let’s stop here.” I offered her my seat and was about to leave, but then she started talking to me. “Do you think everything will be okay?” she asked me. “Yeah, I think so,” I said. “Are you sure?” “Yes. I know everything will be okay,” I replied, unsure what she meant. “Is there anything specific that… Read more >>
Anticipating Challenges
I recently visited the Latin American country where I studied abroad during college, and it reminded me of some of the challenges I faced there and anticipate in Southeast Asia. Here are some of them: 1. Atmosphere Mosquitoes. Unrelenting heat and humidity (okay, I know we think we have it bad in Mississippi, but when your house is open air and there’s no air conditioning, you cannot escape it). Sometimes I took a cold shower and then as soon as I got out, I was sweating again. Fans became my best friends (good for heat and mosquitoes!), until the electricity went out without warning. 2.… Read more >>
Poison ivy, empathy, and support raising
I was restless last night. I couldn’t sleep because the small poison ivy rash on my pinky finger kept bothering me. Even though the rash is smaller than a penny, my entire body suffered for it. As I lay in bed, I was reminded of Romans 12:5, which says that “we though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” When one member of Christ’s body is in pain, the rest of his body is affected. At some point the anti-itch cream started to kick in, and the rest of my body rejoiced along with my pinky that I could finally get some sleep. A few verses after identifying the… Read more >>