Farewell Cookeville

I remember the day I packed my Pontiac Grand Am with a few possessions and drove away, shedding a few tears, saying goodbye to my parents for a while, goodbye to my home and all that I knew to be comfortable. I unpacked my belongings into my tiny dorm room in Cookeville, TN. I remember that first day of college and shedding a few more tears, thinking to myself, “I’m not ready for this.”

Today I drove away from that home not to return for a long time. Fourteen years. Little did I know that I would spend 14 years in that new city. Little did I know that it would become my home. What lessons were learned there, what experiences that fueled growth, what deep relationships were formed there. I may have shed a tear or two as I drove away today. God was good to me in that city. There were too many blessings to count.

As I look forward to my new adventure, I have many moments where I think, “I’m not ready for this.” I expect a few more tears will be shed as I say goodbye to my family again, to this land and home. But perhaps 5 years down the road, 14 years, 20 years, I will leave the new land transformed into home and I’ll shed a few tears remembering all the wonderful gifts from that place, remembering the lessons learned, experiences that fueled growth, and deep relationships formed. 

Take a visual tour of some of my favorite Cookeville places:

My longest Cookeville home

Dogwood Park

My favorite Antique Store

Ralph's Donuts!

The Depot

The Cream City sign

Taiko -the best sushi in the world

Sherlock Park

Burgess Falls and particularly the middle falls and
the bench beside those falls.

Picky Eater Adventures

I used to be a picky eater. You could ask my dad and he’d tell you many stories of my picky days. A story that stands out to me is the time we went to a large church potluck with a large variety of food choices. I asked my dad if we could stop at McDonald’s afterwards because I didn’t like any of the food. He wisely refused me.

During my mid-20s, some friends of mine invited me to eat sushi. For some strange reason I agreed. The food was mouthwatering. I craved the sushi for weeks afterwards. That was the day the sushi addiction began. That experience gave me courage to start trying other foods. I realized how I had been depriving myself of tasty foods for 25 years simply because I convinced myself they were gross. 

I was reminded of my picky eating yesterday as I read through an old journal. The journal was a collection of instances where I discovered God or when He taught me a lesson through everyday life. This particular entry described an incident when my niece wouldn’t try a new food. The incident frustrated me because the niece knew I loved her. Since I loved her, didn’t it follow that I would only give her something that was yummy? She refused to try it and missed out on the yumminess. I then wrote of how God must be frustrated when I refuse to take His advice or obey and how I miss out on amazing things, great tastes, and satisfactions because I’m stubborn. 

Rereading this incident came at a good time. You see, I’m a whole lot like my dad. You could call me Puddleglum Jr. I tend to think the worst things about a situation so I can be pleasantly surprised when they’re not as bad as what I imagined. I have discovered that I’ve been doing this with my impending move. I’ve focused on all the hard things about my move and have lost some of my excitement.  

I have been frequently asking myself some form of the following questions:

“What am I doing?”

“Am I really doing this?”

“What am I thinking?”

“Am I crazy?”

“Will I like it there?”

“Will I have any friends?” 

“How many times a day will I be clueless as to what is actually happening around me?”

It’s a little overwhelming to know that in just over a month I will be permanently living in a new country, trying to learn a new language and culture. To be honest, the sobering factor has overridden my excitement and joy at this long-awaited desire finally fulfilled. 

I have been asking this past week that the Lord renew some of my excitement, to remind me of why I wanted to go there in the first place. He gently rebuked me, comparing me to my closed-mouthed niece. In reality, I’ve shut my lips at what is to come, thinking it will only taste rotten. God helped me to remember that He loves me. He is a giver of good gifts. He doesn’t try to trick me into eating nasty things so He can point and laugh. He reminded me of how I kicked myself for refusing to try new foods thus missing out on many tasty meals. Likewise, I can go to the new country tight-lipped or I can open my mouth wide and find figuratively great tastes, satisfactions, and adventures. Do I really want to waste another 25 years staying close to what is familiar and comfortable, missing out on the richest of fare? I think not. 

Wish List

“If God were to give you all that you are begging for, what would you have?”

This question was posed to me today by a dear brother.

This statement was preceded by the reminder that God has all authority and unlimited supply. The brother told the story from Luke 11:5-13 where the friend asked his neighbor for some bread at midnight to feed his unexpected visitor. In the story, it says the neighbor won’t give him bread because he is his friend but he will because of the friend’s impudence (shameless boldness/relentless annoyance.) 

The brother went on to remind me that: 

-God wants me to come to Him in prayer with shameless boldness and relentless annoyance. 

-God has all authority. 

-God has unlimited supply. He doesn’t run out of resources.

-I can come to God in prayer at any time, on any day.

-I can be as invasive as I want.

-God delights in revealing Himself to those who are bold enough to bother Him.

-I can bother Him in everything, asking for mustard seeds and mountains.

-God is always approachable. 

Coming back to the original question, what would I have if God were to give me all I’m begging for? My truthful answer is I wouldn’t have much because I’m not asking for much. I neglect prayer. Perhaps I do not have because I do not ask. Or perhaps I’m asking for selfish things to bring glory to myself rather than glory for Him. 

A few days ago, I was meeting with my accountability partner. We had been praying for 2 issues and during our meeting realized both had been answered in abundance. We were shocked! I commented that we should see what else we could pray for since that was so easy. These answers and the posed question inspired me to go dream for a little while, to create a wish list.

I remember making Christmas wish lists in my childhood. I asked for an unrealistic amount of toys. My parents were on the poor side so there was no way they could have bought all the things on my wish list. My parents were limited, but God is not. Why not ask for it all? So I did.

I spent some time dreaming and writing out my wish list. What are the things I would want if I could ask God for anything? 

****** to have joy again.

***** to hunger for the Word more than anything else in his life.

**** to finally rest that her value comes from Christ.

***** to listen to Your Word alone

A tithe of workers to be sent out from my home fellowship.

For the sweetest national friendship becoming an eternal

     friendship from day one.

To have no fear, to be finally free.

For the gospel to explode in **** with churches multiplying 

     churches.

For ****** to become a worker sending nation.

For **** to fall in surrender to Your scandalous truth, for his 

     only security to be in Christ.

To be healed permanently from headaches and muscle pain.

To become fluent in the gospel.

To quickly become fluent in my new country and culture.

To become more balanced in the extrovert/introvert scale.

To increase in my aptitude for Scripture Memory, for 

     passages to stick quicker.

For *** towns to no longer be considered unreached.

For Cookeville will take ownership of reaching international   

     students.

For DAILY ABUNDANT JOY!!!!

He may not answer them all with a yes, but He might. What does it hurt to ask?

What would you wish for?

The Glory of Death

Death has been on my mind this week. I’ve heard of two deaths this past week. Both of the deceased ones loved Jesus and gave their lives making Him look glorious. I was reminded of another death earlier this year and words that I found to comfort based on Scripture. Below is part of an email I sent to a grieving friend:

“I was praying for S’s family yesterday and remembered a discussion from last week’s Bible study. We talked about 1 Corinthians 15. In verse 35, someone asked what kind of body will we have at the resurrection. Paul replied, “You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.” This verse led us to discuss John 12:23-25 where Jesus also discusses this same principle. He explained that unless we die, we won’t bear fruit. I know he speaks here of a metaphorical death but he also speaks of the physical one as well. He describes his own impending death as time for him to be “glorified.” As I prayed for S and the family, I pictured her frail body as a plain old seed but her resurrected one as glorified, a contrast of a seed to beautiful wheat. I also realized that her death will yield fruit here on earth. It has to. Jesus said unless we die we won’t really bear fruit so I’m praying and hoping and expecting that her death will bring more life and fruit than her life did.”

The passage in 1 Corinthians 15 continues:

“So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. - Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust (Adam), we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.” -vs 42-44, 49

I had in my head this image of a plain old seed and a person trying to hold onto it claiming it’s worth and beauty. What is a seed compared to a beautiful, life-giving, food-producing wheat field? What is frailty of human life when compared with a glorious, resurrected body? 

Death is meant to do away with mortality, dishonor, weakness, our human body. 

Death is meant to yield MUCH fruit, indestructibility, glorification, power, a new spiritual body. We are to be glorified like Christ was in his death. 

I remember hearing Matt Chandler explain that we HAVE to get a new body. Everything on this earth is cursed by the Fall. Our bodies won’t be able to withstand the glories of heaven. Our eyes are too weak to take in all the beauty and details. Our ears would be overwhelmed with the cacophony of sounds. Our noses would be overran with fragrance. I am reminded of Moses on the mountain asking to see God’s face. God told him that he would only show him His back side because he couldn’t live and see the face of God. We have got to be remade to survive the unending joy and pleasure that awaits us and to be able to stand and LIVE in God’s presence. 

Like I prayed for S, I pray the same for these recent deaths. I pray and hope and expect that these deaths will bring more fruit than their lives did. I pray for my own death. May I not fear death but realize it will mean glory and much fruit. May I remember I will finally be made perfect like my glorious Savior, ready to taste unending joy and pleasure.  

Fall Colors and Sunrises

The outside world has been absolutely stunning these last few weeks. I’ve gotten some good pictures of sunrises and fall colors that were too great to hoard to myself. Enjoy this continuation of my sunrise/sunset series. 

This was from a couple weeks ago

Fog over lake

A separate foggy morning

Fog had lifted

Sunrise #1 (First color scheme)

Sunrise #1 (Second color scheme)

Sunrise #1 (Third color scheme)

Sunrise #2

Sunrise #2

Morning dawn colors reflected on lake.

Deep fall colors that make me happy :)

Art Journal - All the Paths

I’m a visual learner and remember things much more vividly when I can associate it with an image. I’ve decided to start an art journal of sorts containing visual representations of new ideas and concepts that are important to me. My current room is also quite bare so it has served to brighten things up a bit. Below are some examples from the past few weeks.

I was taking a moment to be still and listen to God. On this particular day, I felt like He was reminding me that I am His beloved bride.

I came across this quote and thought it was a good prayer for all my transitions: “Remain in me: Living in change with wisdom & grace.” (Sorry for the subpar picture.)

I got an email last week with the quote: “Steward your suffering well.” I wanted to hold on to this thought because as I read Scripture, suffering is the norm. It shouldn’t take us by surprise. In fact, God often uses suffering to make our faith unbreakable. I don’t want to waste the opportunities to gain unbreakable faith.

With the falling leaves, I wanted to inscribe one of my favorite quotes about leaves onto this thing of beauty: 

“A single maple leaf is woven with greater intricacy than the finest French lace even though it will fall with the winds of autumn. New stars are born every day; a new sunset painted and swept away each night. Such magnificent generosity. No composer ever gave so many free concerts. MacDonald had it right: Gloriously wasteful, O my Lord art Thou!” -John Eldredge

I had a really bad day this past week and spent some time resting in the Father through song. I came across the line: ‘A sacred refuge is Your Name.’ I knew I needed a visual reminder of God as my refuge.

Finally, this verse has been a theme in my life: “All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness.” I’ve been complaining both verbally and internally about the busyness of life, the overload of information, and the hours of sitting taking in information. And yet as I breathe complaints, the Spirit whispers anew, “Am I not worthy, even of all this sitting and information overload? Is not this path equally covered by my steadfast love and faithfulness? Do you not know that even on your worst days, I am near singing my song of love over you?” 

Then I read a story about a woman who became a believer in a place where following Christ has costs. When her spouse found out, he forced her to choose Jesus or her young children. She chose Jesus since her children could not give her eternal life. She was forced to leave her home and family.

What about this path? Surely God doesn’t mean ALL paths. How can a path separated from children be a path of God’s faithfulness? How can a path marked by pain and suffering be filled with steadfast love? In the story above, I know it can because I know the end of the story. The woman left but God provided for her in every way imaginable. Her children watched God’s faithfulness and their mom’s perseverance and eventually they followed Jesus as well. Had the woman bought into the lie that some paths are outside of God’s control, love, and faithfulness and therefore she should take an easier path, her children would not have placed their faith in Jesus. 

In light of this reminder, I sketched out various paths to remind me that no matter the situation or context, my God is steadfast and faithfully loving me there. 

Don’t Pity My Singleness

I had a really bad day the other day. I mean really bad. I hadn’t really processed the emotions of all that has happened over the last two months. I’ve been insanely busy trying to learn everything I need to know about moving to a new home and culture as well as do all that needs to be done. I’ve taken in an overload of information. As an introvert, I’m up to my ears in people and it has exhausted me. To top it all off, I haven’t been sleeping well and had several days of headaches. 

When I learned of a 64 page booklet that I was supposed to read but had somehow missed that tidbit of information, I broke. I ugly cried for a while. I sent out a text to some good friends asking for prayer. I listened to some good worship music that realigned my focus and then I cried again. I decided that it would be best for me to just take a break from everything and relax and pray and cry out my heart before God.

I did all of those things and immediately felt better. I talked with my mom the next day and she commented how she wishes I was married so I could have a husband to walk through bad days with me. I replied that this is exactly why I’m glad I don’t have a husband. Had I been married, I would have been tempted to run to a man for refuge and to fill me. Husbands are human, finite, frail. A man can never fill me. Not having a husband as a crutch, I was forced to run to God. He comforted me. He satisfied me. He gave me peace. He filled me. 

Don’t pity me. I have God to walk with me through the hardest days. He is more than enough. 

Become All that You Are

I was challenged recently to spend a couple hours alone listening to God and hearing what He has to say to me. One thing that has stuck with me from my listening time is this:

To become all that you are in Him. 

I will explain more about that in a moment. 

I spent the first bit of the quiet time examining my heart and confessing sin.  These were some things I confessed:

-Low grade irritations about situations or people

-Fear (of failure, loneliness, unknown)

-A complaining heart towards busyness

-Striving in work and robbing myself of needed rest

-Not taking time to have fun or enjoy the company of others

-Praying sporadically but neglecting extended focused prayer

-Lacking integrity by not paying that parking ticket

-Eating more than is necessary

-Letting circumstances rob my joy

You may be thinking, “Those aren’t really all that bad, if that is all you struggle with then you’re doing alright.” Sure those may seem insignificant but in the end they all produce death and pain to some degree. Someone pointed out how Psalm 139:23 essentially says, “Search me, O God... see if there are any ways that bring pain in me.” Sin, no matter how insignificant, always brings pain into our lives or the lives of others. Take low grade irritations for example, these do not produce life or joy in me.  Fear cripples and destroys. Complaints, striving, being too busy, all these rob me of joy. 

The point of the gospel, of Christ saving us, is to bring us life and joy and to destroy all sin, even the seemingly insignificant ones forever. The goal is to be like Christ, to have not even a hint of sin. Do you imagine Jesus as irritated, complaining, afraid, striving, lacking integrity, only praying here and there when it struck His fancy, or evading paying parking tickets? Yes, you may say, but that’s Jesus, there’s no way that we can ever get to that point. I have found the more frequently I examine my heart for even the tiniest hints of sins, I am more aware of how even the hints bring death. The more I am aware of them, the more willing I am to use all diligence to eliminate them from my life. I don’t know about you but I want to experience Christ’s life here on earth. I want to live without irritations, without fear, without negative complaining, enjoying ALL of life, praying faithfully and deeply, living above reproach, working hard AND resting well. These are the reasons why I confess the small things. I believe the more I confess, the less I struggle with these sins. I want to stop them because I want the joy rather than the death.

I’ve been reading in Romans for a while and am currently staying in chapters 5 and 6. In the second half of chapter 5, it feels like Paul keeps repeating the same thing, namely:

Sin & death came into our world through Adam and now we all sin and die. Jesus offers us the grace of His own righteousness accomplishing not only our justification but also both life presently and eternally.

While reading through this, my head spins. I think, “Paul, why all the repetition? I got it the first time! Adam brought sin and death to all people, Jesus gives us all righteousness and life.” As I have continued to study, I have learned that Paul says this in a variety of ways to show that we are united with Adam in his sin and death. We know this is true because we all sin and we will all die. It is important to see that we are united in Adam because it serves to show our parallel union with Christ. Humans were universally made sinful because of Adam. None of us can escape it. Adam’s sin has somehow been transferred to all of humanity. The flip side is that for those who have faith in Christ, His righteousness is then transferred universally through a union with Him. We inherit Adam’s sin and likewise we are able to inherit Christ’s righteousness.

Moving on to chapter 6, this pattern continues. Paul exhorted the Roman church to put sin to death rather than sinning so that grace would increase. He continues using the union theme. We simply cannot continue to sin because we have died to it. If a person dies in this life we understand that they are no longer alive. A person can’t both die and live at the same time. Similarly, in Christ, we are united in His death. A person can’t be both dead to sin and living in sin. At the point of our justification, we were crucified with Christ and died once and for all to sin. The idea of our death was also the idea that sin’s power over us would forever be abolished. We are also united in His resurrection. Because He was raised, we have also been raised to a new life and will be raised to an eternal one. 

What is my point in all of this? Because of our union with Adam, we sin. Because we are united with Christ, His death means we are no longer slaves to sin. Because Jesus rose, we are united in His life. We have new life, a life that can live victorious over sin. Because of all of this, you and I are able to become all that we are in Christ. That life of no irritation, no fear, no complaining, no lust, no rage, no selfishness, no death is now available to us. I long for that kind of joy-filled, death-free life. May we do all we can to eliminate all sin in our lives, even the tiniest hints so we can truly live.  

Road Trippin'

Because I know everyone is dying to read all about my life, (insert sarcasm) I thought I would write about my road trip. I headed out yesterday afternoon. I made a couple stops along the way and arrived last night at my good friend Lorie’s house. It had been over a year since I last saw her so it was fun to catch up. I slept in this morning and had some time to chill. 

Once I left, I took my sweet time driving. The fall colors are radiant here in Virginia and I drank them in over and over on the trip. After an hour on the road, I decided to take my first bathroom break and stretch my legs. I went in to the stall and managed to drop my sunglasses in the toilet. Yep, that’s the last time I will wear those. I fished them out and put them straight into a trash can. I can imagine all of my germ-o-phobe friends cringing right about now. This little incident is why you see me representing with my River blue sunglasses. 

The rest of the trip took longer than it should have. I stopped several times along the way. I was hoping to find a good sushi place to eat but instead I wasted about an hour hunting for one. I bet you're wondering, "How does she spend her time on a road trip?" Well, I'll tell you. I passed the time by refreshing on some old scripture memory passages, enjoying not having to talk with anyone, listening to The Chronicles of Narnia, and jamming out to some new tunes thanks to my recent gift of an iTunes gift card.

I made it to my destination just in time for dinner. It was neat to reconnect with friends whom I had met back in August. We live in buildings with 4 small apartments that share a large living room in the center. My apartment has 3 bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchenette, and a laundry closet which I share with 2 other girls. I was pumped to have my own room. I unpacked all of my things and organized them so I could feel settled. Afterwards, there were about 12 people in the shared living area and we shared stories and laughed a lot. It felt great to have time to sit and laugh. It’s also neat to be around people who really know and understand everything that’s going on in my life because they’re experiencing the same things.

After a while of chatting, I began to tire and it was feeling late so I retreated to my room. I discovered that it was only 10:30 so I decided to move furniture around to open up the floor space in my room. It is now almost midnight and I have had a second wind. It’s okay though because my only responsibility tomorrow is making sure I make it to the cafeteria during the dining hours. I decided to arrive today because I thought our meetings start tomorrow and I wanted time to settle in first. Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to rough it tomorrow and enjoy the unexpected day of rest.  

Today is the Day

I awoke this morning like other mornings, a little groggy and wondering if it was time to get up or if I had more time to sleep. It was still dark so surely I had a few more minutes? I then jolted wide awake with a start remembering that this is the day. This.Is.The.Day. 

My long awaited and long desired journey began today, my car packed and ready to begin the first leg of this new adventure. As I pulled out early this morning, a thick fog lingered over the mountains. Beauty. Interspersed amidst the fog were pale hints of color bringing the first lights of morning. More beauty. I drove up the mountain and through the fog and finally made my way through it to where I could see clearly. 

The fog reminded me of something I read when my desire for this new journey was most intense and yet at that time I could not see how it could ever come to fruition. The author described a foggy night while she was driving. She said the fog was so thick she had to roll down her window, drive painfully slow and strain her eyes for the reflectors on the road. She drove like this for a long while and then suddenly the fog lifted. She was able to see clearly and thus speed along. 

She connected this experience to faith in trusting God with our futures. She explained that often God doesn’t want to give us the whole picture but rather only our very next step (or reflector). When He’s ready for us to see the next step, He will make it plain. Often He intends for us to move painfully slow for a while. When He’s ready, He will clear out the fog and we will then be able to see a good bit of the road ahead.  

The fog is a metaphor for my life. Today I can see a good bit ahead of me. There were so many days years of the painfully slow and straining for the next reflector. Now that I’m through the fog, I don’t regret it. Nope. Instead, I see it’s beauty.

In this first leg of my journey, I had to say some goodbyes. I was asked several times today if I’m excited/nervous/scared/sad/happy? My honest answer is that I am none of the above. I think maybe the emotions are too intense. Maybe I have went into some weird survival mode where I’ve shut down my emotions. To some degree, I’m sure this is true. I described this to my friend Brooke tonight and she said, “Maybe you just know that today is the day. It’s time. It’s natural. What is there to be emotional about, this is the time.” I think there’s some truth to her words as well. 

I’m seeing more and more that true following of Jesus is made up of small, day to day steps, the small acts of faith. In reality, today is just another day, another chance to follow Him like I have been following Him day in and day out. Faith is a daily journey. This particular day just happens to involve leaving family for an extended time and driving across country. But even those steps are just steps. Maybe that’s why the day has felt surreal and unemotional. Maybe we make things out to be BIG things in our head when in reality, it’s all just small parts of a larger whole.

So friend, stay strong in the small acts of faith. Follow Jesus today. Look with all your might for that next reflector and try to enjoy the beauty of the slow fog. 

"Climbing in the Spirit is accomplished by kneeling, and not by running, by surrender, and not by determination. Despair of self leads to utter desperation, but beyond these mists lies the sunshine of God's presence. Many a soul will turn back to accustomed marshlands of defeat rather than brave the fogs of frustration; but the mountain peaks rise high above the rain and gloom."  -Oswald Chambers

Accidents & Mistakes

Mistake: The other night I mistakenly told my mom that I would rather sleep in than go walking with her the next morning.

Accident: I accidentally waited 60 seconds too late upon waking to tell my mom I had changed my mind and did want to go walk. I watched her drive away.

Mistake: My mom had mistakenly left her phone on silent and didn’t know I had called her to tell her to come back. I decided to get dressed and go meet her.

Mistake: I mistakenly went to walking area #1 but my mom was not there. I drove to walking area #2 and my mom was not there either.

I learned from my mistakes by realizing maybe God was trying to carve out some quiet space for me in this beautiful out-of-the-way park. I listed my gifts and then journaled through my feelings. While sitting in that quiet space, I reminisced. The park reminds me of my old piano teacher because of the bluegrass festivals he invited me to there. He’s been on my mind a lot lately because of the small part he played in my current journey. If I were not so busy during this time, I would love to go pay him a visit.

Accident: As I have reflected on my life, I can now see how he accidentally discipled me. I don’t think he strategized ways to leverage his profession to disciple students. He simply lived his faith in the small things of the daily grind and his life greatly impacted mine. His patience and kindness with me as a lazy student who didn’t want to practice demonstrated to me the patience, kindness, and steadfastness of the Lord. He taught me a skill that fosters my own heart to worship God. I don’t know how many hard days I have sat down at the keyboard and played, cried, worshipped my heart out. In addition to learning a skill, he also instilled in me a love for hymns and the rich theology within those old songs which have stood the test of time. 

As I got a little older, he began to tell me about his adventures to an orphanage in Honduras. Here was this average, working, middle-aged guy, who was willing to leave behind his comforts and first language for a few weeks a year and go love and impact this nation. Even this had a profound impact on my life. I’m a homebody. I don’t like to travel. As a kid, I thought my tiny hometown was the greatest place on earth and I intended to stay there forever. Whenever I would hear people talk of those crazy weirdos who were willing to live in faraway countries, I wanted to run in the other direction. Then one day, my piano teacher started talking about traveling and I realized if he could do it as an average, sane, non-weirdo then maybe I might do it one day. I was still not ready to pack my bags but it was the first step in the direction I am now headed towards. 

Accident: As I drove out of that quiet little park, it was no accident that my old piano teacher was standing by the road. What a sweet gift from the Lord. I stopped in the middle of the road and asked if he remembered me. He did and walked over to chat with me for a minute. He asked what I was up to and I told him about my new journey of moving overseas. I then told him that he played a role in my journey and thanked him for that. He was pleased with my new adventure and told me he would definitely be praying for me. We talked another minute or two and then I drove away, ready to shed tears of joy.

God is so good and mindful of me. What seems like accidents and mistakes and misses are really His divine protection and provision. It had been a hard morning for me because of all that has to be done and grieving over all that I’m leaving behind. The Lord knew I needed that moment of quiet and knew I needed the gift of seeing my old, steadfast, faithful piano teacher. It was sweet soothing for my soul.

I am reminded yet again of how God takes tiny efforts (mustard seeds) on our part to grow His kingdom, a theme in my life of late. My piano teacher “accidentally” discipled me by simply living his life. I “accidentally” did much ministry in my little apartment. Even though I am taking a big step to move far away, I believe that God is far more pleased in my simple, daily grind obedience. I believe that is where true ministry happens. Even as I go, He will be much more honored through my continued faithful obedience in simply living my life than in the this grand act of moving. So if you’re feeling stuck in the daily grind, take heart, that is where true ministry happens.