Drifting into Danger

In past blogs, I have given reasons that I love working at a missionary school in general, and Morrison specifically. 

I am sure that I have mentioned the students, the parents, the community, but here's a new one: devotions. 

Every Monday, the first thing each week, the entire staff from the elementary to the high school gather for a short time of worship and scripture inspired thoughts. Friday morning, the elementary and middle school staff again gathers.

Every year, each staff member is assigned a day to lead these devotions. For the past four years, I was assigned a Friday later on in the school year, either March or April, which gave me plenty of time to think, pray, and prepare.

Imagine my surprise back in July when I opened an email and found out I was sharing the third Friday of the year. Yikes! 

Fortunately for me, I had just had the honor of hearing a well delivered sermon at Camp Sychar. A friend advised, "You should share on that." (Thanks, Ann)

So I did.

"We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away" Hebrews 2:1

When my sister and I were little girls, our grandparents lived in Florida. Lucky for us, their house was only two miles from the beach. Every year, our family would load up the car, and make the long drive to the west coast of Florida. For two weeks, we would play in the sand, jump waves, and visit relatives.

One year, when I was about 9 or 10, my sister and I enjoyed the waves on top of an inflatable raft. A sand bar allowed us to safely paddle out and look back at our parents on the beach. Every so often, we would jump off, get wet, and then climb back on. It was a great way to enjoy the Gulf of Mexico, until the unexpected happen.

Unbeknown to us, the out going tide had carried our raft farther out than normal. Imagine my surprise when I jumped off, expecting to find solid sand beneath my feet, and found nothing but water instead. Gasping for breath, my head broke the surface of the water.

In my young irrational mind, I was convinced that my sister, being two years older, could most certainly touch the bottom. So I began jumping on her, expecting her to save me. But in reality, all I was doing was, not only drowning myself, but her also. (Sorry, Mindy)

Spiritually, I am sure you can see the implications.

Just as tides and waves cause us to drift, the stresses and busyness of life can pull us away from our Creator God. The end result, unfortunately, is waking up one morning finding ourselves outside the will of God. We need to daily keep our eyes on the one who loves us and redeemed us from our sins. 

Fortunately for my sister and I, we had an earthly father who was keeping an eye on us and came to our rescue. Even now,  I can remember the instant security I felt when my father's arm reached through my panic and pulled me to safety. 

I think no matter how far we had drifted out, Dad would have come. The same is true for God. We can never drift too far away. His love reaches to the ends of the earth!

On my first trip to Taiwan, I experienced another near drowning.

Fortunately, this time, I not only had knowledge (swimming lessons - thanks Mom!), but also the wisdom that comes from experience.

A group of us  had traveled to Kenting, the beach town on the southern tip.  Finding a secluded beach, we set up for a barbecue and a dip in the waves. On either side of the strip of sand, majestic rocks jutted up from the surf. The beauty of the waves crashing was quite breathtaking.

Shortly after entering the surf, I realized the danger. The undertow was strong. The waves kept pushing me towards those rocks. Treading water, I could feel myself being pulled farther and farther away from safety. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get back to the safety of the beach.

I knew I was in trouble.

Big trouble.

But, this is where wisdom comes into play. I had the head knowledge of swimming, but I needed to know how to apply my learning, my experience.

So unlike my childhood experience, I remained calm. Back then, I didn't know I was in trouble until it was almost too late. But this time, I knew I had drifted into dangerous territory.

Calmly, I used the knowledge of waves and undertows. Inch by inch, I was able to swim closer, using the power of the waves, keeping my eyes on the safety of the beach. It took a long time, but eventually, I was able to reach the soft sands. Exhausted, I dropped to the ground. None of my companions, fortunately, swam out into the area where the danger lurked. They never knew the trouble I had been in.

My point is, we need to stay aware of where we are spiritually. 

It is so easy to drift away.

Meditation on the Word of God.

Prayer.

Worship.

"We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away" Hebrews 2:1

By the way, I still love the ocean!

  

My Harvest Field

"Do you not say, ' It is still four months until the harvest comes? Look, I say unto you, raise your eyes and look to the fields and see, they are white for harvest.'" John 4:34

I am a missionary.

But, I am not a preacher, nor an evangelist.

I once asked God what I could do on a mission field for Him. He answered immediately. After that point, my direction never wavered. After high school, I studied to become a teacher. 

Four years ago, when we first came to Morrison, God gave me additional directions: be a vessel in which His love could be carried to those who know Him not; be a living testimony of His mercy and grace; a shining light to those living in darkness.

And then He brings them to me. Every school day they come into my world, my life, my classroom. God gives me 180 days to shine that light, to be His hands, to demonstrate His love.

He loves the little children, all the children. And because He does, I do.

And so here they are, my precious, priceless gems.

  

My Harvest Field

"Do you not say, ' It is still four months until the harvest comes? Look, I say unto you, raise your eyes and look to the fields and see, they are white for harvest.'" John 4:34

I am a missionary.

But, I am not a preacher, nor an evangelist.

I once asked God what I could do on a mission field for Him. He answered immediately. After that point, my direction never wavered. After high school, I studied to become a teacher. 

Four years ago, when we first came to Morrison, God gave me additional directions: be a vessel in which His love could be carried to those who know Him not; be a living testimony of His mercy and grace; a shining light to those living in darkness.

And then He brings them to me. Every school day they come into my world, my life, my classroom. God gives me 180 days to shine that light, to be His hands, to demonstrate His love.

He loves the little children, all the children. And because He does, I do.

And so here they are, my precious, priceless gems.

  

New Beginnings

One of the things I like about teaching is the cycle.

There is a beginning.

There is an ending.

Every year, a start and a finish.

This, for some people, would drive them crazy. But not me.

I like it.

The beginning of this school year was a slight bit different thnt the previous four. As much as I like beginnings and endings, I dislike being late.

Due to uncontrollable circumstances, I showed up to work 6 hours late. Good thing it was just teacher work week and not the actual week with students. School wide devotions began at 8:50 Monday morning, followed by the typical beginning of the year meetings. 

Instead of occupying my usual chair on the front seat, I was still on a plane somewhere over the East China Sea. Don't feel too bad for me. The airline compensated our traveling woes by upgrading our seats to economy comfort.

Our travels were doomed almost from the beginning. A delay, even so slight, can throw a wrench into international travel. Our delay, 4 hours, turned into arriving in Taichung  fourteen hours behind schedule.

But, once again don't feel too bad for us, God was in control the whole time.

I'm so glad the problem with the computers was discovered long before we boarded our flight to Japan. That's something I simply don't want to find out 30,000 feet above sea level. I'm just thankful that another plane was available for our use.

 Originally, Jacob and I were to land in Taipei at 7:30 pm. After going through immigration and customs, we planned utilizing Taiwan's awesome bus and taxi infrastructure to complete our travels. I was slightly concerned about navigating through the process with very little Chinese, and more importantly, very little sleep. But by missing our connecting flight, we spent the night at a very nice Tokyo hotel. And while we didn't get a full night's sleep, we did get more than we would have if there hadn't been a delay. So instead of nighttime, darkness, and sleepiness, it was morning, daytime, and restfulness.  I don't know about you, but I function better under those circumstances. 

Another blessing in disguise when none of our four suitcases made an appearance. I watched every piece of luggage roll past me, some two or three times. Not one of them belonged to me. Strange as it seems, I thanked God. Not a typical reaction, but once again my God was in control and knew what I could and could not handle. God knew that even together, Jacob and I could not easily manage four suitcases, two carry-ons, and two backpacks onto a bus and later a taxi. Let me pause here to say that while Jacob and I could have done it, it would not have been fun. The word stressful pops into mind. But God knew that. So He arranged for the bags to be conveniently misplaced, requiring the airlines to deliver it almost to my front door. They actually came to the gate house at the entrance of school and then Jaco rolled them home. 

So that was the beginning of school year 2016 - 2017.

Despite getting a late start, I was ready to roll Monday morning!

And here they are.....

The class of 2027!

We now have week one under our belts. 

However, I miss Nick.

I miss Ben.

I miss Abbi.

And I definitely miss Carl. 

I have a new appreciation for single parents, trying to balance being a good parent while doing their job well. It's a constant battle, both physically and emotionally: it's a battle that I am glad I only have to face for two more weeks.

This is one time I don't mind time going fast!