I've been asked several times in the last few months if I was planning another trip to Africa. "No" I would answer, "Maybe next year." Well, here it is July and I am headed again to Africa. Our church was in desperate need of a team leader and asked if I would take the challenge on. With a very nervous heart, I said yes. So now my weeks are filled with making guest house, car, and boat reservations. Every week, our team meets to go over Bible stories and work on methods of introducing the Gospel. I have piles forming of wicking t shirts and ankle length skirts not to mention flashlights, bug spray, and everything you need when staying a week on an island with no electricity or running water.
I look at the piles and I marvel how God continues to make straight paths for our family. We have learned to be VERY flexible and draped in prayer. While we dream and discuss about our future, we have landed in this wonderful place where we are always waiting to see what God has for us. Nothing is set in stone until He sets it. For a planner like me, this is not an easy thing. I had a great plan for our family. We would have three children, Dan would be a journalist and I would stay at home. We would live in our starter home for a few years then by a more "comfortable" home. And on and on it goes. My plan was not to be. God began to teach me to stop and listen for His calling instead of my own planning. I stopped being distracted by the activities of life (most of the time). I remembered the story of Elijah in the cave (1 Kings 19). There he stood on a mountain, waiting to hear God's voice. He was not distracted by wind, earthquake or fire. If he had been distracted; if he had reacted in his humanity to the terrifying situation around him, he would have missed out on the huge blessing God had for him. He would have thought he was still alone and would have died in his grief. But, even in what seemed the worst of circumstances, God was making his path straight.
At one time, I didn't want a daughter that was autistic. When my son was born, I didn't want him be so smart that I would struggle to keep his ego in check. When I married my husband, I didn't want him to work a job that pays miserably. I didn't want to go back to work. I didn't want to ask people to help us adopt two African children. I didn't want to live in an old house in a "poor" neighborhood. The lists of "I didn't want" went on and on. Praise God that he didn't give me what I wanted!!!! Olivia and her autism have changed me from top to bottom, and all for the good. Eli's intelligence has challenged me to be thoughtful and search out God's answers to every question. I get to see my husband fulfilled and joyful while he ministers to special needs children everyday. At work, I am stretched and pushed to be more loving than I am naturally and to seek God's wisdom in each decision. Our adoption process has taught me that I have amazing people in my life who trust and support us and who will fight with us to unite our family. And that old house in the poor neighborhood has become a sanctuary for countless neighborhood children who need a safe place to play and a loving adult to listen to them, often for the first time.
My prayer today and everyday is that God will constantly remind me not to be distracted by all of the "stuff" in this short life but to keep listening to His voice as we prepare for the afterlife. When I am tempted to have a pity party, may He remind me that each and every circumstance is His to deal with and His to transform into something beautiful. When I die, I long to hear my Father say "Well done, Kristie. You have been a good and faithful servant."
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