Midnight Musings...

It's midnight...I should be in bed, but my mind doesn't seem to want to shut down.

My hubby graduates from seminary with his Master of Divinity in five weeks. Seriously, in just five short weeks, we will be done. The last three and a half years have been hard, really, really hard. But, our God is faithful and I know He will redeem the time.

A dear friend from high school just brought home two precious babies from Uganda. Two.precious.babies. I cannot even begin to express what their journey has done to my heart.

An old friend and his family serve with Samaritan's Purse in Kenya. For the last several months he has been flying both people and supplies to a refugee camp on the border of Sudan. (I knew him while I lived in Nicaragua, where he flew flies. That is another story for another day...) I cannot even begin to express what the story of these Sudanese refugees has done to my heart.

I follow the blogs of a couple of women who are in Ecuador on a Compassion Blogging trip. They have shared such beautiful stories of the children in Ecuador, children whose lives have been forever changed by the love of Jesus, because He has honored the faithfulness of Compassion International and the folks who have determined to partner with Compassion through sponsorship. I cannot even begin to express what the pictures the bloggers have painted this past week have done to my heart.

My kiddos and I have been collecting small gifts for Operation Christmas Child for the last several weeks. Tonight we got together with some folks from church to pack our shoeboxes, wrap them, and pray over them. Over the last few weeks we have watched YouTube videos of children scouring dumps for items that can be sold so their families can survive, videos of children who have treasured gifts that they have received for years after receiving them...and I have wept. I cannot even begin to express what this opportunity for us to share with children from around the world has done to my heart.

I do not know what God has in store for us after graduation. I do not know if He will redeem the last three and a half years by granting our family the privilege of serving in an orphanage in Africa or by bringing little ones into our family through adoption. I do not know if His plan for our lives will include serving refugees on the border of Sudan or somewhere in the United States, this incredible country we live in that offers asylum to so many. Maybe He will redeem the time by pouring out our lives into the lives of children who have been devastated by poverty. I simply do not know, we do not know. But, of this one thing I am certain...I cannot even begin to express what He has done to my heart. And, I cannot wait to see what He will do.