Tout pou Jezi

Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.  After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.  1 Peter 5:6-7, 10 NASB 

A new year, a new beginning; a time to reflect on the things of old.  2013 was a year of intense sifting.  A time when survival was of the utmost importance.  It feels as though there is time now to reflect on all that was experienced, all that was learned and to apply the lessons to that which lies ahead.  

Listening to my teenagers current woes it came to me to encourage her by assuring her that she will survive.  And it will get...better?...well, that depends on how you look at it.  Different is more accurate.  My husband and I reminded her that this world is not our home so it will likely never be comfortable.  There will always be challenges. The challenges change from season to season, but as long as we're growing life is never easy.  Or rarely, anyway.

Since our most recent trip to Haiti we have been longing for the time when we can return with our children.  This has been a time of waiting and testing our patience.  It has been a time of questioning, reaffirming and relying on God.  We know that He has placed a love of and longing for Haiti in our hearts.  There is no other explanation for the desire to stretch our personal preferences in such a way.  

And we continue to wait.  But we are assured that He will perfect the calling of our hearts.  In his perfect time and to His perfect glory.

We trust in Him.

Ki kote prale nou?  Ayiti.  Kile?  M pa konne.  And that is okay.  We don't have to know.  We just trust.  And obey.  And wait.  

Tout pou Jezi.  Jodi a e tou tann e tou tann. 

Winds of change...

Not so often is one acutely aware that their life is about to change.  The morning of a c-section birth is one example of this phenomenon.  To be in the midst of a life-changing week (or to be witnessing one from afar) is surreal.

What emotions and experiences will have to be unpacked?  What tales and photos will be relived?  What work is God doing at this very time and place in one, two or four hearts?  How is He binding together, intertwining Himself into His followers at this moment?

What is His plan?  

Ki kote li prale?  

Ki kote prale m?

Little Messages...ak Bondye?

"Waiting with hope is very difficult, but true patience is expressed when we must even wait for hope.  I will have reached the point of greatest strength once I have learned to wait for hope."  -George Matheson

The LORD your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.  Zephaniah 3:17 (nkjv) 

Seye a, Bondye nou an, l'a nan mitan nou! Se you vanyan gason. Se li menm k'ap delivre nou.  Li kontan we sa n'ap fe.  L'ap mete ou kanpe anko paske li renmen ou.  W'ap fe ke l'kontan. li ap chante. (Sofoni 3:17 Kreyol)

"Somewhere, someone is looking for exactly what you have to offer." -Louise L. Hay



And now I say, "Ki kote prale mwen?"  (Where am I going?)

Where He leads, I will follow.

Listening to a program my nine year old was tuned into captured my heart.  It was God talking to a little sapling tree.  He told the little tree, "Just be what I made you to be."  The thought of the little sapling being a large oak didn't seem possible but maybe that WAS what the tree was meant to be.

It makes me wonder if I look at myself as a sapling when God sees an oak?

What are YOU meant to be? 

Uncertainty plagues us all.  What will tomorrow bring?  But when we rest in the arms of Jesus and let Him be our guide, a peace that passes all understanding rests upon us.

I don't know where I'm going - but today I choose obedience.  Where He leads me, I will follow.

Ki kote OU prale?  (Where are YOU going?)