The Calm Before the Storm

The last few weeks have been full of traveling and processing and planning, with very little to show for it. Oh sure, we do have $200 worth of shampoo, 4 cases of diapers, and enough Taco seasoning to supply the Yakima Valley for a while all sitting in our already-cramped living room. But really, life is otherwise plugging along pretty normally. Anya's back in the routine of school, though she's had a rough time with her new teacher who doesn't want 2nd graders looking out of the window during school hours...something about "staying on task". Ethan and Chad have a system worked out, running errands, playing on PBSkids.org, and frequenting Yakima's parks each day. Miriam finished up work at the clinic for good, so now she's down to working just 21 hours a week at the nursing home. The baby is growing and kicking and down-right doing the jig most of the day, to the kids' delight and Miriam's discomfort. Just a "normal" family, living the normal life. And yet there's about to be so much change, so much upheaval of all normalcy, it almost feels like these few months are just teasers. Like we're 'wasting' a good three months we could use to spread the chaos out a little bit better.

I'm learning a lot about God's timing. Like, for example, it's nothing like my timing. Our house sold in 11 days. God and I were on the same page with that one. What wonderful confirmation of our calling. And then we realized I was pregnant and it would delay us from leaving for Malawi... not so much my idea of perfect timing (let alone a due date of Christmas Eve!) Then we thought we'd be heading to Orientation in October...and then we found out it wouldn't be until January. Oh boy, I really don't understand now! And yet it's let us speak to so many more churches than we had anticipated. It will allow us to attend my baby brother's wedding we thought we were going to miss. Our families will get to meet the baby before we head off to Africa (just imagine--they'll kiss a 3-week-old good-bye, and then meet a 3-year old at the airport when we come back. We just have to live without Burger King or college football. Who is making the real sacrifice???)

So I can see God's hand in all the opportunities that have come because we're still here and not boarding the plane for Malawi next week like we had planned. And yet I still have moments of question, as we sit here waiting for the storm to hit, wishing we were already on the other side of it all. Oh well. I suppose it's good practice, for I have so much to learn about being still and knowing that God is God and I am not.