Personal Growth

I promise I haven't turned into a selfie girl and this is not a vain post about me. From the very beginning of this journey which started in April 2016 I've wanted this to be about God and God alone. However, I wanted to capture and share a moment that even surprised me and I wanted to share the why.

3 months into a season of sickness, not only was I able to smile, I was genuinely smiling. It was late and I was sitting in a dark hospital room sharing a bed with a tiny wild sleeper (Zari). The power had gone out at the hospital, Karson was asleep in the bed next to ours and instead of being frustrated that I had a long and mostly sleepless night ahead of me I was genuinely happy.

If you knew me 10+ years ago you probably know that I would normally be completely stressed out by now. Not that this whole thing hasn't been stressful, but this time the stress hasn't consumed me. Through the last almost 6 years in Kenya, God has grown me. He's stretched me, and many times allowed me to face challenges that I wouldn't believe I could have faced, and definitely couldn't have faced without Him.

If you've been following for a long time you know that several years ago Jeff and I both went to Kenyan jail on the same day, we've fought off a physical attack by multiple men, our daughter Joy got extremely sick and we didn't know if she was going to make it, we've done some long term "extreme" camping...okay it probably wasn't that bad, but it felt like it was to me 😂. We have walked away from our home, given the keys away, and God put us right back in that home, and then continued to grow and provide for it. We've had children who we really love walk away without any real closure or understanding. Our journey hasn't been easy, but it has been such a blessing!

But God, He is so, so good! His goodness is why I'm able to genuinely smile while surrounded by sickness. Typhoid, malaria, amoebas, worms, H. Pylori, so much sickness, thousands of dollars spent on getting everyone well, so behind on all the things that need to be done, but I know this is right where I'm supposed to be. This is what He has for me. And since I know and believe that God is growing me through this, I can rest in Him. 💜

ECCLESIASTES 3:1-8

1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: 2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7 a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.