So it begins..
Some of you know this, some of you don't, some may have forgotten...some won't even read this. :) Such is the reality of the electronic age.
I am leaving to go to Turkey. For just under 4 months. Tuesday in fact. Next Tuesday. I'll be finishing my thesis, working in a research center, and working with both non-Turks and Turks alike, outside of the school stuff.
I'm amazed by the fact that I am under a week of way from this undertaking, of which so much is still uncertain. Beyond Turkey, even MORE is uncertain. What I am learning is that "uncertainty" is not a bad thing, it is not a fearful thing, it is not a harmful thing. In fact it can be a very good thing for it requires a reliance on someone larger than yourself. Some folks might say something, I say someone...someone with a capitol S. "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act." ~ Psalm 37:5
It is sobering. I am leaving all that I know and find comfortable to go live overseas. I know that it isn't permanent, that Lord willing I will come back, but I don't want to live or become lost in longing wrongly for the day when I return. If I did, would I have ever really left? Worse still, would I have been relying and trusting on God to sustain and guide me? I think not.
As I sit here surrounded by the few things I will be packing into a suitcase and lugging 5000 miles away, I am struck by God's faithfulness. I am learning that patience and prayer are essential. I am learning that pro-activity is not the same as ANY-activity. His ways are not my ways. "Many plans are in a man's heart, but the counsel of the Lord will stand." ~ Proverbs 19:21. I choose to follow Him in all I do.
I've had a song stuck in my head for a few days, one that sums up my thoughts fairly well.
Here I am Lord
Is it I Lord
I have heard You calling in the night
I will go Lord
If You lead me
I will hold Your people in my heart
That is my prayer. For myself, and for all of you.
Congrats on the upcoming adventure! Will you be in places you've visited before? Excited for you.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see you have a blog! I hope you'll have time to keep us updated once in a while during your adventures overseas. You need to add a "Follow" button so we can subscribe to your blog and be notified of your posts! If you go to Layout, you can add it as a gadget (if you didn't know that already). :-)
ReplyDeleteDaniel:
ReplyDeleteWhat a great Faith to go where God leads without a plan without knowing what is to come but living in the Moment and with God. From the first day I met you when you were smaller, I could see in you a great potential and an open spirit. I am honored to be your friend and to watch you on this path. Please keep the blog going. Go with Faith, Go with Peace, and go with God. In your travels my Dad's benediction comes to mind:
Today is the first day of the rest of your life
The last day of the first of your life
Live it as both a beginning and an ending
With the hope that new beginnings bring,
With the commitment that endings demand.
Know that all you do God's love is with you.
Serve God and love the people-
Love God and serve the people.
Lee Ann Rose