So a long holiday weekend gives a man time to think. Since the 4th of July, I’ve
been surveying the last two years in the life of my family. As I recalled the memories and emotions of
some major events, I felt a peace that surpasses understanding. While I don’t recall every moment of the last
700+ days being worry-free, from my perspective on this side of all it, I’m
more convinced than ever of God’s ever-abiding presence, guidance, and blessing
in our lives. (Psalm 23:6 “surely goodness and mercy will follow me all
the days of my life.”) And, since I haven't exactly posted anything during that time, I need to play a quick catch up. Unless I think of
something else, I’ve got ten major events, so I’ll take them in pairs:
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| The living room, at around 12:30am, Christmas Day |
1.
I guess when I look back, the starting point of
the “craziness” for our family was Christmas Eve, 2011. We had been in Lubbock, celebrating Christmas
with April’s family. I was helping lead
a candlelight service in Odessa that evening, so we headed back to Midland with
enough time to drop off our things, get ready, and head over to rehearsal. I’ll never forget the kids getting out of the
car, heading in the back door, and shouting back to us, “the floor is wet.”
The next few hours included pizza and
presents on the floor in our bedroom (all of the bedrooms were dry), a shop vac
in the wading pool (the sunken living room), and a pile of carpet on the back
porch by 3:30am. Santa dropped off
presents into the kids’ rooms, instead of on the concrete slab. April’s back/neck were injured in the
process, but that’s a story for later.
Here’s what I’ll remember most about that Christmas: On that cold concrete floor, my family
laughed and played like nothing was unusual about not having carpet. No one whined about “why” this had
happened. We just gave thanks for what
was protected and made the best of some “bad luck.” The bad luck was a supply line to a toilet that broke loose. (James 1:2-3
“Consider it pure joy…whenever you face trials of many kinds…”) We definitely have seen trials of “many kinds”
over the last year and a half, but this one just seemed like another story to
tell. (And believe me, I’ve only given
the shortened version.)
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| The back porch aftermath... |
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| Prayers with the College Leadership |
2.
The next memory was a distinct high point, as
April and I had a tremendous opportunity to visit Indonesia and Singapore on a
Missions Oversight Trip. Three days on
the island of Batam, visiting a college that prepares young Indonesians to lead
and serve in the church over there.
After that, three days in the City/Nation/Island of Singapore, spending
time with the church there and seeing a part of the world we had never even
planned to see.
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| The largest tree I've ever seen |
April and I spent one
evening on our own in Indonesia, with no interpreter, just “blending in” with
the people. (I went back and added
quotes, because there’s no way we could blend in with the natives. Blonde hair, white skin, and above average
height are all traits that are unique over there.) Singapore offered a night-time zoo visit, a
Broadway quality musical, and a stark contrast to the poverty of the island
just an hour’s ferry ride away.
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| Singapore, the modern City |
The
people, however, were accommodating in all of our experiences. I was especially fond of the flights to get overseas
and back, where for up to 14 hours at a time, all I did was watch movies and
read books. No one called me, stopped in
my office, sent me an email (OK I just couldn’t read them), or made demands of
me that I had to deal with. It was
telling how much I enjoyed that aspect of the trip. I seriously thought immediately after that how traveling around the world every so often would be very "restful". However, the most memorable thing for me was
how difficult it was to even get to the church building on Batam. It was the equivalent of needing a 4x4 on a
mountain trail, that “road” that led to the Sunday gathering. We all remarked about how much someone would
have to want to go to worship to be able to make the trip. Worshiping and communing with my brothers and
sisters on the other side of the globe, I remember the overwhelming feeling
that the world is much bigger than I’d entertained in my head, and yet, the
world was connected such that it’s really a small place now. (Romans 10:14-15 “How, then can they call on the one they have
not believed in? And how can they
believe in the one of whom they have not heard?
And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are
sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who
bring good news!”)
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| The Batam church |
More stories/memories to come as soon as I can get them out of my head and onto the computer.
Just Passing Through,
Eric
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