As you may or may not know, I have returned to the good ole US of A and been here now for about 2 months. I am renewing my visa and working to save money and go back to London on a more long term basis (at least three years). Prayer would be awesome right now, as I've hit a snafu in the visa process, but no worries, I've got the big guy on my side.
Being home has been amazing, and continues to be amazing. I haven't spent so much undisturbed time with my family since I left for Kenya in 2011! So crazy, right? I love the pacific north west, with all my heart. In a few weeks I'm going on this great hike with my dad, where we climb from about 5pm to 730 or 8pm, and watch the sunset from the ridge, watch the full moon rise, and then hike down in its beams. I LOVE the pacific north west.
God has seriously surprised me again, with an incredible job that came out of nowhere, from a friend of my grandmother's. I am taking care of a 54 yr old man with brain cancer, and they pay me more than I am qualified for (which is not at all) and they let me live in their house and eat their food, and they kind of like me. It is such an easy job, considering I just hang out with him, read, cook, make sure we get some outdoors time, and that he takes his medicine. But also, it is hard. He has tendency to fall because his tumor is in the motor skills area, and also he sometimes has seizures. At the beginning, I was stressed all the time, watching his every move, just waiting for him to fall, and wondering what I would do when he did. And if he has a seizure, oh dear lord, I might freak out. I don't know if I'm ok to do this job! But after a few weeks and a lot of prayer, God really has taught me a lot through this. In regards to my guy, why would I sit around waiting for something that might NOT actually happen? Just get on with the day, enjoy it, make it enjoyable for him, and when the time comes and something does happen, deal with it then. But don't waste your whole day and whole weeks stressed and anxious only to come out at the end with no situations at all. Actually, he has only fallen once in the 7 weeks I've been working, and every seizure has been when I was off duty. This carries over into my spiritual life so much. Why worry about things before they happen? We can't plan how the future is going to look, so just take it as it comes, with God on our side and our hearts in his hand. God is so faithful. Not only is he providing for me financially, but he is also guarding me spiritually. In a community or by yourself, there is so much that can be learned.
On that note, I was asking God the other day what things are going to look like when I go BACK to London, you know. And as is per usual for me to ask, God usually answers about the same…CHILL. After this loving reminder, God gave me a picture of a wave. You know, they're big and strong and have force and whatever. But the idea is, a wave takes time to build up, it isn't just like boom, 20 feet tall. There are currents, other waves, timing, etc that come into play before a wave reaches its full height.So God has been building me, putting me against currents, buffering me with other waves, and waiting for the right time. Only then at its full height does a wave curl over and crash. So there's a release coming! That's the most exciting part…or is it? He continued to share with me that after the crash, a wave continues to extend out, though not as noticeable as when it was towering over the ocean about to crash, but now supplying the currents and push for another wave to be built up. Things that God has planned with me go way beyond ME. Now the common misconception here is that you're finished, you only get one of these in your life, one big moment. But is there just one wave in the ocean? No, of course not! So there is not just one for us, one moment where everything comes to fruition and then plays out. No! God is constantly building and releasing, in and through each of us; using us, and using others, to influence us, and then in turn for us to influence. The ocean has never looked more beautiful to me.
