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They say hindsight is 20/20. It is so cool to look back on your life and realize that through the spaghetti-type mazes, as they seemed at the time, that God’s Hand was there all the time. We sometimes get those “aha!” moments where a puzzle piece slips into place. A seemingly random event in our upbringing suddenly comes to light as having a purpose in bringing us to this moment. I have had many of these realizations, and each one is a gift from God. One of my annoying quirks

John Hyde, lovingly remembered as “praying Hyde,” did something controversial; something which sparked criticism from his brethren until they could no longer argue with the results. He was a missionary to India in the late 1800s to early 1900s. He loved God and longed to be effective in service. But he battled with hidden sins, which often pulled him down. During one meeting, he boldly confessed his sins to the group and shared how God had given him the victory. Several of hi

Spinning out of control is a terrible feeling. It’s like hitting black ice and just hanging on for the ride. Sometimes life can feel like this. In my head, I know that God is in control. But it’s so much easier to “trust” God when I feel like I have some level of control. I hate feeling helpless. I hate “letting go.” As I look back over my life, I can see countless ways where God’s way was so much better than my own. I can see where my faith has grown and where I surrendered

Elegant palm trees, smiling faces and crazy traffic. What do these have in common? They are all a part of my “home.” Not many months ago, I was filled with homesickness for my home country. How can you be homesick for two places at once? Perhaps only those who have lived overseas can truly understand. But now that I’m leaving, my heart is heavy. I feel so torn. The anticipation I was expecting to feel seems crowded out by the apprehension of leaving “home.” Sure, there are f

Do you have a blessings book? I can’t even remember where I first heard of the idea, but it is a good one. It doesn’t have to be a fancy notebook. In fact, my first one was on regular paper, folded over. I didn’t necessarily add to it every day, but I tried to have a mindset of thankfulness at all times. Sometimes I would make several entries in one day. On days when I felt a bit discouraged, I could read over all the blessings and remember the great things God had done in my

The first time I flew, I remember being filled with awe. How tiny everything appeared! I could see vehicles driving around, but they looked like toys. Psalm 8:4 came to mind: “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" From my vantage point, I could see far more than those below could see, yet how much more can God see in the third heaven? Of course, I believe that He is omniscient (all-knowing). But from this perspective, suddenl

Rainy season is in full force and when I hear the thunderous sound of heavy rain, I feel compelled to rush to a window and watch! It is so exhilarating! It has not yet lost its novelty or appeal to me. Citizens, however, are not so inclined to run to their window. They avoid being out in the rain whenever possible and when it starts raining, their posture assumes “So what? It’s just another rain” attitude. It’s interesting what people can get used to and take for granted. Now

One of the most effective ways to learn a language is to speak it. You can learn in theory all you want, but practicing speaking and getting feedback is one of the most valuable ways to make it your own. However, this requires a certain amount of bravery and humility. You have to learn to be able to laugh at yourself, while being painfully aware that to the native speaker you sound just like a toddler. When I was in the Philippines, I was enthusiastic about learning Tagalog.

As hard as besetting sin is to purge from our lives, at least it is often obviously recognized as just that: sin! The weights are a lot more subtle. They’re sometimes not even sin or wrong per se at all. Sometimes our friends can do the exact same things and not be affected in the least. But for us, it’s a stumbling block; a weight. In itself, it might not be bad and one could even find positive aspects of it. But that’s not where our perspective needs to be. Instead of focus

Anyone who moves overseas can tell you that it’s a stressful event. It is not the same as a short-term trip or vacation. You’re overwhelmed with doing life completely differently, while being homesick and lonely. It’s rough. What can make it harder is if you start a job overseas. As in our case, we arrived in the country in the afternoon and my husband was at work by 8 am the next morning. (He was only supposed to begin the following week, but one thing you learn quickly, is

The men next door were mean. We were not allowed to walk across their yard. We probably would not have done so anyway, but the neighbour girl did and one day I followed her. Boy, did I get into trouble! Respecting property did not apply to them, however, as my dad once had to stop them from standing in our driveway. They were teaching the neighbourhood kids to golf, using stones from our driveway and aiming at our front window. Another time, when I was very little, I was pla

Do you have any favourite Christmas traditions? Growing up, we would always open our stockings in the morning. My mom liked to put a fun toy at the top, peeking out enticingly. It often included candy and small toys, and, of course, an orange in the toe! When we were fairly young, my family started a tradition of going to sing Christmas carols at a local care home on Christmas Day. Many of the residents were taken to spend the day with family, others had family come to visit

“ Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14 If anyone needed to forget the past, it was Paul. Before his conversion, he was a religious zealot, who committed many atrocities against the followers of his now-beloved Lord. These memories must have

I’ve been thinking a lot about this concept lately. How privileged to be the hands and feet of Christ. When people think of me, do they think of me or do they see Christ? Too often we’re preoccupied with ourselves. We want people to think well of us. We may struggle with conceit and arrogance, or we may put ourselves down and wallow in self-deprecation and worse, but it’s all pride. I’ve heard it said that we should not think less of ourselves, but rather think about ourselve

“Remember that once you dreamed of being where you are now.” Unknown How poetic, and yet it is not my story. It just goes to show that God can do abundantly above all that we ask or think. When I was a teenager, I was a bit of a feminist. I wanted to serve God full-time, not “just” be a wife and a mother. In fact, I did not want to be either one. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with a single woman serving God wholeheartedly. But in my case, my whole attitude about it was

It can be truly difficult to understand the alienation and alignment that comes from being part of two worlds, fitting into both and neither at the same time. As some of our friends prepared to head back to the United States, they shared their mixed emotions with us…part excitement and part sadness. Having just made a similar trip recently (in reverse), I can well understand the feelings. If I returned home, part of me would always be missing. I don’t think I could be content

I am a planner. I thrive with lists and goals. The upside to this is that I can be organized, efficient and productive. The downside is that I really struggle when things are out of my control. I remember being on the road full-time with my newborn. He was never a great sleeper and I had a rough postpartum recovery. I definitely was all in survival mode. It was often one day at a time, and we didn’t always even know where we’d be spending the night. I remember sharing some t

I’m always struck by the “same-ness” of humanity. And yet, why should I be? They’re human, after all. Somehow, we think that people in far-off countries with different cultures and customs, must be so different from us. How they think and feel must be completely opposite to how we think and feel. And in a way, that can be true. But when it comes down to it, how I feel and react mirrors much of how they feel and react. They still have basic needs. They still love their familie

In our society, it seems like running at full capacity is an accepted norm. We’re guilted into doing this or that, all good things of course. But in all our running, do we miss out on what’s truly important? It goes back to letting God plan our day. But this time, rather than detours, think about how full your schedule is. I recently heard a lady explain that every “yes” is a “no” to something else. Every time we say yes to someone, as people pleasers, we may at the same time

This is one thing that stumps me the most. I am really good at planning. I am even good with the follow-through. I usually have no problem addressing hard or unpleasant tasks with gusto, just to stroke them from my list. Detours, however, do not sit as well with me. How frustrating it is when the toddler takes a short or non-existent nap. Delays and inconveniences grate on me, which can be a common occurrence in a country where time is relative. Why should these things bothe