This time around (a visit home)

After more than a weeks' absence from my job at Living Hope International, I see now that there is so much going on in this world.  Unfortunately, and to no fault of the ministry, my line of work creates a sort of isolation that is not ideal for a woman of my personality. I love my ministry, I enjoy my girls, and I am even excited about the experience offered to me by the areas of ministry that God has placed me in. But there is always a quiet little voice in my heart...

My dream, when I am home, is renewed. I feel the tug on my being, the pull on my heart to begin working toward that dream. Briefly put, I want to change the world. I want to literally go international with what God is doing, His hand, His work, His glory. I'm tired of Him being ignored, His credit being wasted on politicians, and His work and His people being unreported or underappreciated. I will need your prayers...

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The effects of seeing friends, and "catching up" is hard. There is little I can do to try and keep up with it all since not only do people change, but there are new people invading each time I visit. I meet more strangers with each visit and wonder if we might have been good friends if I were to stay on.

I spent a good amount of time with my family, they all seem to be doing relatively well - relative to how they may have been doing a month ago. I love them all dearly.  A popular topic among them, especially Grandma, was my "love life," for lack of a better term. Granny's questions and theories as to why I continue to choose to be single and not date is that I'm afraid of men. I assured her this was not the case, that I had taken Tai Kwon Do and know the basic maneuvers well enough.

The weddings that are being planned are allegedly weakening my resolve - according to my mom. She says that because there will be three consecutive weddings in which I am a bride's maid, that it's making me think about it. I admit, I began briefly to think of my own wedding and even considered calling the zoo to find out how much they'd charge to rent the elephants, but I decided to hold off.

The time that I spend with friends, I have to say, is HIGHLY enjoyable. I can't appreciate them enough, love them enough, or tell them how wonderful they are enough. I try to refrain because then I start to sound like a crazy person. The folks that are in my life are priceless brothers and sisters in Christ. How meaningful it is to know that they support me in life, in prayer, in ministry, in every way. And how fun is it to come home to find that they still want to barbecue, grab a bite, sit on a dock, go swimming at midnight, and simply spend time together in fellowship and foolishness.

This visit was lovely, and I look forward to the next with such anticipation of memories to be created, and love to be spread about like wildflowers.