No words today: just photos.

Harry updated www.soulinprocess.com today, too.

After many, many hours of traveling to a time zone that is almost completely opposite of ours, we’re here!  With nearly all of our bags! (“Expecting” the last one tonight or tomorrow.) And adjusting to jet lag pretty well. We managed to stay awake all day and actually carry on coherent conversation for the majority of the day.  Most of the day, we walked around the city with our great hosts and shopped for local clothes and just took in our surroundings. Photos to come later.

We enjoyed experiencing the city today and are still processing, of course. No one’s lying when they say there are cows in the middle or side of the road, traffic is rule-challenged, and idols can be found everywhere. But there is beauty here.

I would say the weirdest thing so far is sleeping with the windows open (to keep the air flowing) at night and listening to the sounds of the city. You know, the usual: car horns honking and honking, dogs barking, cows mooing. And of course, the rooster crowing to signal the construction crews to begin their work. Every city of 5 million people or more has roosters, right?

Our day ended with yummy local cuisine, sweet lime soda, finger bowls and sweet friends.  We are thankful for good health and stamina and for the one true God who is not limited by a people of idols in all their many forms.

In 6 days (whether we have all of our toiletries or have paid our water bill) we’ll be boarding a plane. And then boarding another plane. And then boarding one final plane for 36ish hours of travel time to get to the other side of the world to a city and country where we’ve never been. Here we go!

When you begin to pursue living in a foreign land answering a call to do work that seems made for you, inevitably a myriad of obstacles rear their ugly heads. Some of these we have already seen God toss aside in that way only a sovereign God can do. Planning a trip to visit said city with very minimal effort in two months or less, for instance. Others are just now becoming real for us.

Some of them are painful, emotionally draining, and seem insurmountable. And in our strength, they surely are insurmountable. And we want to give up at times. But we choose not to give up. We choose to fight and continue trusting in the One who created the world and gave us life. To press on toward the goal of godliness in whatever path it takes to get there.

I know that sometimes God allows us to encounter obstacles to reveal more of Himself and no other reason. I just pray that we will continue to see God at work even in what we think of as obstacles.

One thing I know. God is not limited by our obstacles.

So, we wait and see. And pray. Please, Lord, keep us prayerful.

I found this quote in a book I just finished reading, When Sinners Say “I Do”, by Dave Harvey.  Great book, by the way.  It suggests that the quality of your marriage is dependent on what you believe about God. So, I’m just reading along in chapter 8 out of 10 total chapters and I come across this:

Cornelius Plantinga said, “Human sin is stubborn, but not as stubborn as the grace of God and not half so persistent, not half so ready to suffer to win its way.”

I think this is so beautiful!  I’m not even sure what to say in response to it.  I just read it over and over again and am amazed by the concept of the grace of God being “stubborn.”  But I look back at my own life, and what do I see?  Persistent stubbornness throughout every season.

When I go weeks without spending quality time in the Word, how do I eventually come back to it?  When I can’t see His work in my life because I’m so focused on myself and the perceived injustice to me, how do I eventually find my way back to acknowledging God?  When I am empty and don’t even know what to pray, how do I eventually run to the Truth?  God’s sweet, persistent nudging.   Because He loves me, He doesn’t leave me to my sin forever.  He cares for me so much that He won’t stop until He has stripped away the things that keep me from being the person He will have me to be.

This quote reminds me of a time in my life when I didn’t have the clarity of mind or the bravery to make the changes that needed to be made.  Although it may not have been obvious to those around me, I was living sinfully in my heart, pursuing my own pleasure at whatever cost.  My prayers were seemingly sincere and wholly selfish.  This season brought some of the most intense pain I’ve ever felt, as God removed someone from my life–never to return.  God’s grace was all that was left in this dark place.  It was during this time that I experienced needing the Word in a desperate way–just to wake up in the morning–for the first time in my life.  What mercy it was!

In the end, my faith was stronger, my love for God greater, my understanding of His faithfulness clearer, my awareness of my need for Him heightened.  Why?  Because I was a “good” Christian?  Because I hadn’t done anything really bad?  Because I prayed “enough”?  No.    Because God pursued me stubbornly and persistently.  So, I would have to agree with Mr. Plantinga.  Indeed, praise God that He is so much greater than our sin!

Any thoughts on this quote?  Let me know what you think.