October 1st

Time is a funny thing. Sometimes it seems to pass so quickly and other times it seems to drag on and on. Today is the first of October. I have been here aboard the Africa Mercy again for nearly 10 weeks. The same amount of time as my first visit here. Only this time I am not leaving. I am committed to the full field service. That means I am here at least until July. It is not hard to imagine my time here extending far beyond that. Only God knows at this point.
     So far most of my days have been filled with a feeling of being blessed beyond belief. There is something quite indescribable about being here that leaves me feeling ....I don't even know the right words. Fulfilled, whole, in the place I'm made to be. There is joy in being witness to what God is doing here. And blessing in somehow being a small part of it. A spoke in the wheel. United with others that feel the same draw. Witness to healing, not just in physical bodies, but in hearts, in souls, Smiles found sometimes for the first time ever. Lives restored. Relationships healed. And in the midst of it all, what truly drives it, eternal souls having the opportunity to be introduced and restored to the God who created them. The God who loves them. The God who has come looking for his lost sheep.
     And then there are the hard parts. That which had to be left behind. The cost. Anything worth doing always comes at a cost. My cost is my people. The lost connections. The distance so far, the time zones so inconvenient.  It is amazing to me that living on a ship with up to 700 people at times I can experience loneliness. But yet it is there from time to time raising its ugly head. The people here are wonderful but they are not the ones who know me well. Who know my scars, who know my secrets, who know what makes me laugh and what brings me joy. At least not yet. Those people are far across an ocean and caught up in their own lives . Do not misunderstand, we are still in touch from time to time, but not in the day to day. It leaves a void. So what can I do. The only thing I know. Run to throne. Run to one who knows it all. Who made me who I am. He who knit me together and knows my deepest needs. It is in His shelter I will rest.
    This week as I waded through all of these feelings and tried to sort through this thing called life, I cried out to God. He is so gracious, and so loving. So faithful. He responded by showing me a beautiful example of a daughter and her Father in loving relationship. He showed me how her focus was only on her father and not on the other things around them. How they were connected.How she reached out to touch his face.It was such a sacred moment. It was a picture of tenderness and love. Intimacy and trust. Joy. He used it to remind me of the relationship He desires to have with me. For my focus to be solely on Him. That I can jump up in His arms and look to Him for all I need. To feel secure, to feel loved, to feel safe and to know I am cared for.That I can rely on Him alone to guide and direct me. To protect me from things I do not understand. To teach me.  Though this world is filled with both joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, it is in Him where I will ultimately find all that I need.
     I am also reminded this morning of how fortunate I am to be in the community that God has placed me in. I am surrounded by a majority of Christ following believers. We come from different countries with varied traditions and customs. However , we are all part of one body. At least twice a week we come together to worship the same King. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is our Saviour and we his flock. We are equal under the blood. As we come together and read in His word, sing praises to He who sits on the throne, our differences vanish and we are reminded that collectively we are the bride of Christ. He has called us out, and gathered us together to serve Him and point others to Him. All around the world their are others like us. Many are isolated and alone in a sea of those who have not heard, or choose not to believe. They are isolated and alone. Longing for community and communion with others who share their faith. How they long to have fellowship with others that believe as they do. Some are underground and some are persecuted for what they believe. Others are tortured and martyred. How fortunate we are here, on this floating hospital to be yoked together with others who desire to lift high our King. Just last night we spent nearly two hours sitting, standing and kneeling in His presence. Singing praises to His name. Worshiping Him for who he is and for what He has done.We are so blessed. May I never take it for granted.
 He has conquered sin and death. He has revealed Himself to us and invited us in. He has made a way. A way to be restored and redeemed.. A way to once again have relationship with Him that knows us best. He who made us. The maker and creator of all, who calls us by name.
Can I ever be thankful enough?

Isaiah 43.1
But now, this is what the LORD says-- he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.


Is He calling you today? How will you respond?

Hebrews 4:7
God again set a certain day, calling it "Today." This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."