For many weeks now I have been going through a period of introspection and vulnerability which has left me unwilling to put my thoughts down for others to read. I realize that last month was a huge emotional adjustment and this month has been rife with the busy schedule of working to get moved out of the mission house and back into our own home. We are trying to get our house ready for rent and so everything that we have accumulated over the past 30 years has had to go to Goodwill or into storage. Making decisions about these sorts of things is often very taxing. Debbie has sanded and painted, scrubbed and cleaned every square inch of painted surface, while I refinished all the hardwood floors and now the house has taken on a strange and lonely echo in it's empty rooms. Everything has changed, but the good memories and happy times of raising our family here, but we will take all that with us, whatever we do and wherever God leads us in the future, nothing can erase that or paint over it.
Last week we celebrated Pesach (Passover) with our very good friends of 40 years. It was such a wonderful evening as we shared the 4 cups of blessing together, but going beyond that we shared and celebrated our own blessing of the deep, abiding friendship and love we've shared throughout the years.
This was the first Easter, as a family, that we all gathered for our traditional Sunday dinner without my mom, but it was good to be together and enjoy each others company. But now we have to let go of the past and press on into the future and that is something we must do by faith. We know that God is pleased for us to be in such a place as this, of trusting Him for each step we take to fall upon solid ground. I have often thought of this as taking a ride on a zip-line. Once you let go, there is no going back, but initially, it's comforting to know the ground is not that far below your feet, that is, until you pass over the gorge which has seemingly no bottom. The handle to which we hold represents faith, and as long as we hold to it, there is safety and a certainty of reaching the other side, so it is in endurance that we will inherit the rewards of faith and come to know the faithfulness of God.
