The plan for today

If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night," even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You. Psalm 139:11-12

Empty nets lying there at the water's edge
Told a story that few could believe
And none could explain
How some crazy fishermen
Agreed to go where Jesus said
With no thought for what they could gain
For Jesus had called them by name.
"For the Sake of the Call"--Steven Curtis Chapman

I have only a few minutes this morning--Marc is off retrieving John-John and Han from a sleepover--but after a great evening, I definitely wanted to catch you up on how God is at work in my life. We had a perfect evening last night--TGIFridays, Starbucks, and a lovely stroll on Arbat Street. Of course, the food was wonderful and the coffee tasted like home, but the best part of all was the chance to really talk with one another without the interruption of the kids. Monday is our 18th anniversary, and we always like on our anniversary to sit down and discuss where we are and where we're headed. Of course, this year's conversation was a little bit different (and pretty interesting) because where we are...well, it's a lot different from years past. And where we are spiritually is a lot different, too.

There is a big part of me that loves logic and order and reason. I like for things to make sense. And nothing about being here makes sense, so this has been especially difficult for me. Marc has a lot of "go-with-the-flow" in him, but I really like for things to be exactly what I think they're going to be. Moscow, the life of a missionary, being a full-time wife and mother...none of these things has turned out to be exactly what I thought they would be, and so I have struggled to be less rigid, more flexible, more compassionate toward others, more trusting of the decisions of others...sometimes with pretty good success, but sometimes with no success at all. As we talked about the future, about the next term, or whether there would be a next term at all, I was struck by not only how much my life has changed, but also by how little of the future I can really see from where I am right now. I love the ten-year plan. Love it. But I can't even picture a ten-week plan right now. And for once in my life, I'm learning that what God wants from me is just obedience. I'm on a need-to-know basis, and I just don't need to know right now. I'll admit that's a big pill for me to swallow, but it's also one that's going down easier and easier as time goes by and I settle into this life that God has for me right now.

I don't know your situation. Some of you are my good friends and family. Some of you are other missionaries. Many of you are people I do not know and will likely never know. But I know this: all He wants from us is our obedience. Everything else falls into place when we simply say, "Yes!" to whatever He has for us right now. I promise if you'll just submit to Him, your life will be so much easier and more content. I know that the less I've pestered Him about tomorrow, the better my todays have become. Wherever you are in the world, I pray that you are trusting God for today's plan, and that you had a venti caramel frappucino some time recently. Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye