Message From Mike
Hey all, well I figure it’s about time I chime back in again. In one short week this trip has brought us so far, not only from Amherst to Windhoek to Okahandja to Arandis, but emotionally and spiritually as well. All eleven teenagers (we added Toivo, a Hope’s Promise friend, when we got here) have been interacting with their experiences and with God in their own unique ways. Before we got here I was so intent on shaping experiences to make this the best possible trip for each one of them. But I’ve come to realize God’s ideas of success for this trip are far different from my own. I have such a short term view of spiritual maturity. I want each of them to be totally transformed and spiritually mature by the time we get home. God has much smaller steps in mind. He sees the whole of our lives, all of time even, and makes His plans accordingly. We want just-add-water spiritual maturity, but He works much more like a blacksmith who beats his metal into shape, then sticks it back in the fire to beat it again. Little by little, one stroke at a time, He shapes us and forms us into who He wants us to be. And sometimes He works at a lot slower pace than I would like. :-) So He’s adjusting my sights, continuing to shape and work on me, and I just need to trust that He knows what He’s doing. The more I try to force my ways on Him, the more frustrated I’ll be. So instead I rest, rest in His plans, in His sovereignty, in His grace. We’re halfway there. For now we’ll see what hammer strokes this next week has in store.
posted by germaine @ 6:19 AM
