Having Impact

Serving food to a community of migrant workers in Ciudad Juarez. (2008)

As of today, both our visas have been approved. We expect them to arrive by tomorrow which will allow us to fly out as early as this coming Monday. But lately as we've been saying our goodbyes, I've been noticing the impact we've had on those around us. Everyone from the kid at our favorite coffee shop to the cashier at our local pharmacy has been in some way impacted by us.

It really hit me this morning when Michael and I received a thank you from one of the gals in our old leasing office. Before we broke our lease the assistant manager was adamant that we should see her one last time to say our goodbyes, but when we turned in our keys she had already gone for the day. So I left a little note, sharing how much we enjoyed living there and what a pleasure it's been to know her. I wrote some contact information and set it on her desk. After we got back to our hotel, I went to their corporate website and left some positive feedback sharing how amazing the staff had been and we felt they should be recognized for their stellar service.

So this morning, when I read the response from her I was totally touched by it. It was incredibly personal and sweet. She thanked us for the feedback we sent to their corporate office and made it a point to say: "It really made my day and believe me, the feeling is mutual." I suddenly had this moment where I realized how easily our life can have impact on someone else when we're intentional about loving as we go.


Rivers, Dams, and Crash Diet Christianity

One unfortunate and natural consequence of the the church being institutionalized is that we compartmentalize our spiritual life from our "worldly" life. It's kind of like crash dieting in that we set aside a fixed time period for intense, highly spiritualized ministry - but as soon as we're done we go back to our normal routine and eventually put back on all those "pounds" (read: sin) we tried so hard to loose. But Jesus says in Luke that: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Being a disciple of Jesus means we live in a perpetual state of freely receiving love from the Father and freely sharing that love with others.

In John 7:38 Jesus describes this free-flowing lifestyle as having "rivers of living water." Any river that gets dammed up automatically means it is not flowing freely. In fact, damming up a powerful river at designated intervals can be disastrous for the land that follows it's course. Jesus then says in Matthew 6:24 that: “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other." So it is not only unnecessary to categorize our lives into neat boxes of "secular" and "religious", but Jesus says it's actually impossible for us to do that!

In the same ways that crash dieting is too extreme to be sustainable long-term, and damming up a strong river brings extremes of deluge or drought; compartmentalizing our walk with Jesus brings reoccuring "spiritual" highs and lows that stunt growth and can eventually lead to burn out.


A Recovering To-Do Lister

Michael and I pay bills, get coffee, check our mail, go out to eat, and shop for last-minute gifts just like anyone else. The only thing we may do differently is that we make certain allowances in our time because we put building a relationship above task completion. We go into all situations assuming we can make a friend and we value a lasting friendship more than a forty-minute dinner at Cheesecake Factory.

And all this is coming from yours truly, who by nature, is an extremely task-oriented individual! It isn't easy for me to allow wiggle room when I'm in "the zone". I view most relationships as an assignment to accomplish rather than a gift to enjoy. It sounds so mechanical and cold, but that's just how my brain works! Of course I enjoy good conversation. It just needs to be scheduled and on my to-do list. It's truly not my natural inclination to just go with the flow and allow for that unexpected chit-chat at the gas pump when I've got places to go and things to do!

But over time I've learned how to be more intentional in that area and I've allowed Jesus to shift my priorities around. On Jesus' way to raise Lazarus from the dead (which by the way, Lazarus was someone he dearly loved and cared for) he took the time to "minister" to a women who had been bleeding for twelve years. Jesus was never too task-focused for a relationship-building opportunity. Can you imagine if Jesus had said to that woman, "Sorry, Friday night is when I do outreach, if you want to be healed of your ailment, come to me then." If Jesus is the exact representation of God, and he made himself so available as to heal a woman (who by the way was acting unlawfully by touching a rabbi while being ceremonially unclean due to her bleeding) while on his way to raise his friend from death; what then does that say about our Heavenly Father?

God commands in Leviticus 6:13 that "Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out." The temple was a shadow of God grandeur design, but the symbolism here is so rich. God's love, forgiveness, salvation, mercy, grace, goodness... All of who He is is always available to us. Always. And there is nothing you or I or anyone else can do to remove our High Priest (who is Jesus) from His temple (which is us)! He is always near to us and He will never stop loving us: "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rm 38-39)


The God Who Made His Dwelling Place With Man

Traveling musicians in the Old Market

district of Omaha, Nebraska.

God designed us for Him, to have impact for Him, and to love with His big strong love. Our favorite response when someone asks us how we've been is to say, "Busy!" We're simply "too busy" to get to know these people that we run in to day after day after day. They shouldn't be a stranger to us, but since we believe that there are special times for taking interest in other people's lives, we never think outside the box and reach out. We miss out on these incredible opportunities to connect and share the love of God.

That one human being that we don't notice is the same one that God is completely and totally fixed upon. He is watching their every move. He's in love. His heart is captivated by them. And His love for them is inside of our hearts too, if He is in fact dwelling in us. Let's not dam up the "rivers of living water" that flow from the heart of God and though our hearts. And let's also not preform a hyper-drive crash diet love that really only comes from our own limited efforts and cannot be sustained. Instead let's just allow Jesus to live through us and give Him freedom to take genuine interest in the clerk at the pharmacy or the high school student at the coffee shop.

Jesus is enough. Every day, He is enough. Because of Him and through Him and for Him, we can have impact.

In your daily routine, how can you reach out to those you encounter? Off the top of your head, how many people can you think of where there's the opportunity to build a closer relationship with them?

Are we there yet?

The moving van parked outside our apartment.

The movers came Tuesday and, just like that, all of our stuff is packed and ready for long-term storage or India. Michael recorded the some of the process  on video in case we want to share it with family and friends (or kids) someday.

Before the movers were scheduled to come out we had to complete what's called a "Valued Inventory" of our belongings. So for the past month we've been hammering away on this massive inventory list for the moving company and insurance. 

If you have ever done one of these before, you know how big of a headache they can be. If you haven't, I'd liken it to one of those papers your professor assigns at the beginning of the semester, but since it isn't due until the end you put it off. You know, the kind where you're supposed to pace yourself but instead you only do a little research here and there. After a while you think, "Hey, this isn't so bad after all" and you might even start to wonder why everyone else is so stressed about it. But then you really dig in and suddenly you realize how much work you're going to have to do to get this paper done.

And I wouldn't say that we have a lot of stuff. In fact, I'd say we're pretty bare bones. But we didn't realize how much stuff we actually owned until we had to list it out, piece by individual piece, then ascribe a monetary value to it. We decided to look at more than just the cost of replacement, but whether or not a particular item held any present usefulness. So it didn't matter how much something was worth, if we knew it wouldn't work for us in India, it stayed behind or went to a donation center.

Our visas are still pending approval, so we'll be staying in a hotel until those arrive (hopefully within the next week or so.) October through February is the best time to visit Delhi, but October in particular is a holiday month for most Indians. Because of this, our visas could possibly take much longer than usual.

Are you sure all that came from inside our place?

Michael and I are still in disbelief. Is this really happening? I mean… really? Are we actually moving to India - and are we actually going to be living there? For a year? Or more? It makes you ask other questions like: "Why us? What made us so special? Why were we given this opportunity and not someone else?"

September 25th came and went this year, but on that day in 2008 God was doing a lot of amazing things in my life. I was experiencing incredible deliverance and healing. His Holy Spirit was ministering to my heart and He was sharing his heart with me. On one occasion we were talking and Jesus told me three times: "I have great things in store for you. I have great things in store for you. I have great things in store for you."

I look back on that conversation and remember all the adventures Michael and I have been on together. Then I think.. Wow. God is so amazing. He's so good. He knew about India when He told me that. The God of the universe - He's so big - shared His heart with me. Like a Father teasing his little girl with a big surprise, God let me in on a little bit of His plans for me.

You can call me wishy-washy, but I think dates have meanings. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, began at sunset September 28th. Yom Kippur, The Day of Atonement, begins at sunset October 7th (tomorrow). Michael and I are entering a new season, a new adventure. In India, what will God have in store for us in the Jewish year of 5772?

Does God communicate to you through special dates or observances in your life? What are some significant seasons you cherish in the time you've known Jesus?

Thank You

My grandma Clarine
Nov. 8th, 1932 - Sep.  6th, 2011

My grandma Clarine passed away on September 6th.

Her twin sister, my Aunt Charlene, died three weeks earlier.

It's been a time of grief and sorrow for my family. A time for reflection and mourning. A time for comfort and tenderness. And during seasons like this, it can be difficult to find a reason to be thankful.

But we can still make the choice.

There's a lot I could say, but I think the most important fact is my Grandma knew Jesus. When her health began to decline several years ago, I had many opportunities to pray for and with her. Sometimes I'd pray with her in person when I was in town, sometimes over the phone, and other times I would write a prayer in a card and mail it to her. I'm thankful for the times I could listen to her and offer her my support through prayer.

It's hard being sick all the time. Where the hours go for someone in pain no one knows, but I do know that Jesus counts them all. I know that His skin was torn into with shards of metal, nail and bone for our healing. His body was beaten and scourged so that our bodies could be made whole. Jesus died for our eternal salvation - yes - but he died for our temporal well-being too. We can partake in His victory during our time here on earth just as much as His victory after death in heaven.

My grandma out with family at the pool.

My grandma told me that some days she would just tell the Devil, "Get out of here!" She knew it wasn't God making her sick. God doesn't make people sick; the devil does. He's a liar, thief and murderer. But Jesus said he saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven and told his disciples that they had been given all authority to tread on Satan and all his minions.

We still have that authority today, and that alone is something to be thankful for.

I don't understand why some people get healed and some people don't. It makes me sad that out of all the times I prayed for my grandma, she wasn't healed of all her pain. I confess to even experiencing guilt for not praying enough or harder or fasting more, or something, anything... But God's grace is made perfect in our weakness.  More importantly, I know that my experiences do not define the truth. And I'm so thankful for the reality that God's grace is sufficient and it's His good pleasure to give us healing.

My sister, mom, grandma and me.

During our trip to Houston in August, I was able to have some private time with my grandma in her bedroom. We joked a little, she wished us the best in India and she told me that she and grandpa knew how much I loved them. Then she held my hand and simply said, "Ashley, I can feel it." And I knew she was telling me goodbye for the last time here on earth. I nodded and all I could think to say was, "Okay grandma."

Sometimes a lot more is said in someone eyes than words can express. I knew she was tired. She was ready. I'm thankful I was given the opportunity to look her in the eye, tell her I loved her and say goodbye.

I don't know this for sure, but I think sometimes God bypasses our emotions with his grace to enable us to complete a task. At my grandma's memorial, I sat behind my grandpa, my mom, and her three brothers. I could only see their backs, but my heart was filled with compassion and sadness for them. My heart ached terribly watching my grandpa's sagging shoulders or the seeing the tissue raised to my mom's face. In John 11:35 it says that Jesus literally burst into tears at the sight of Lazarus' family weeping. I thank God for the closure I received before my grandma's passing if it meant there was some way I could be a comfort to my family.

Michael and I leave for India soon and I am thankful I was able to see my family one last time at my grandma's funeral. I have a lot to be thankful for... my friends, my family, my husband, and my Savior. I'm thankful that when I prayed for my family to come to know Jesus, God opened his heart to me in sharing that burden. He loves them more than I could ever imagine. He is near to the brokenhearted and He is a God who is moved by our heart.

Thank you for my grandma, Lord. Thank you for Jesus and all the answered prayers found in Him. And thank you for the image of my grandmother walking beside you in your Holy Kingdom. You are so good.

An Experience Vs. An Investment

Jerky from Wray & Gwen: always a welcome package to find on our doorstep.

Michael and I spent the week before last in Houston with my family. As expected, it was a bittersweet time for me. You can never spend enough time with those you love before you say goodbye.

A month from tomorrow we will be moving to India. I have to stop when I say that because it's still so incredible to me. When I look back on my life I don't believe I ever once entertained the idea of living in another country -- let alone India.

Backpacking through Europe? You bet. Moving to India for a year or more? Not even on the radar.

But Westerners have always been drawn to the East. We have these caricatures of entire societies made up of belly dancing girls, snake charmers, elephant-riding sultans, endless varieties of exotic spices, and all other lures of the orient.

And I guess those ideas aren't created in a vacuum. But popping in and out of a culture for a few experiential trinkets is a lot different that setting your down roots in one.

I think there is a lot of room for romanticizing and setting up false expectations (it is India we're talking about after all). When you watch shows like "House Hunter's International" you get excited for these couples moving to Bulgaria, Rome, South Africa, or wherever. But you never get to see if ten years down the road their investment paid off. You only get to see their initial experiences.

The difference in moving to another culture for an experience verses going to make an investment simply boils down to the difference between a contractual mindset verses a covenantal mindset. Or to put it not-so-nicely: Moving for selfish reasons verses moving for selfless reasons.

Really, if you think about it, whether it's a new box of markers or a new romance, anything new is exciting to us. But 'new' inevitable becomes 'old' and it's at that point the immature and superficial leave. The mature and steady will push through and remain.

A contractual mindset thinks in terms of conditions and (usually) personal conveniences:

• "If he cheats on me, I'll divorce him." 
• "If I have to write a twenty-five page paper for this class, I'll drop it."
• "If I don't get that raise, I'm quitting."
• "If I get tired of India, I'll just move back home."

But a covenant mindset has no terms or limitations; it completely negates the "if" in the equation:

• "No matter if cheats me, I'll get help, but I will stand by his side until the end."
• "No matter if I have to write a twenty-five page paper for this class, I will give it my best and complete the task." 
• "No matter if I don't get that raise, I will continue to perform my responsibilities as well as, if not better, than before."
• "No matter if I get tired of India, I will remember I'm not here for me, I'm here for a purpose that is yet to be accomplished."

My own "work and creativity zone".

In short, a contractual mindset doesn't have to cost you anything. But a a covenant mindset will always cost you something, if not eventually everything.

There is a lot of novelty to India.... but there's a lot to be frustrated by also. If we want to endure things for the long haul, we have to look at India as an investment. Just like in financial markets, there will be losses in our emotional, spiritual and physical "markets", but the long-term yields eternal dividends.

It's exciting to think about finding a flat in Delhi and romanticize the expatriate life. But what will we do six months into it when the routine sets in? What happens when we wake up homesick and realize things break, the food tastes bad, and the traffic sucks?

We'll remember that India is more than just a temporal experience. India is an eternal investment.

India is God's investment, and God's credit is good. God is so sure this investment will pay off that he's given us his Son's inheritance in advance. What a rich and generous a Father we have!

Do you catch yourself jumping from one "high" to the next? Which mindset (contractual or covenantal) do you think is the most prevalent here in America?

Obedience Has Nothing To Do With You

I'll just come out and say that for the past couple months I've lacked passion in my relationship with God. It's not that I haven't had much to be thankful for or that there haven't been amazing things God is doing in my life, but we all go through times where it can feel like we're just going through the motions.

I think it's really important to remember a few things when we enter "seasons" like this:

1. It's not about you. It's about Jesus.
2. Obedience is not based on your emotions or circumstances.
3. You have a job to do and the world doesn't pause until you feel passionate about fulfilling the Great Commission again.

I've noticed that whenever I get in these places, 100% of the time it's my fault. Somewhere along the line I started thinking more about me than God. And my prayers will reflect that shift in focus: "I'm sorry God, I just don't know what's wrong with me. Why can't I just be more loving? I don't know why I can't just be obedient and read my bible more. I feel like such a lousy servant." Me, me, me, whine, whine, whine.

At some point, when I'm done throwing my little pity-party, a light bulb will go off and I'll remember a truth I forgot: It's not about me. It's about Jesus.

It shouldn't matter if I woke up late, spilled coffee on favorite shirt, ran out of deodorant and have a run in my hose. Obedience isn't dependent on my mood or circumstances. This world and everything in it was created by and through and for Jesus, and if He says love thy neighbor, then it's my responsibility to do it. Jesus is the main character, not Ashley Crist. He is who my focus and attention should be on. Paul explains in his letter to the Galatians:

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Gal  2:20)

Again, who here is the center of the Story? Me or Jesus? It's a "no duh" that the Old Ashley is disobedient and naturally self-focused. The Old Ashley will probably never want to sacrifice her time for others or want to obey the Great Commission. And if there had been some way for the Old Ashley to be repaired, Jesus wouldn't have crucified her in His body two thousand years ago:

"Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with [Jesus] in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin." (Rom 6:3-6) 

The Old Ashley was crucified with Christ, but now the New Ashley has been resurrected and her life is now hidden in Him. There is no more of this: "I don't want to do that." There is only: "Christ in me, I shall!" Me has been taken entirely out of the equation, there is only Jesus the Christ. Jesus is my righteousness. I put on Jesus and everything that's in and apart of Him, is in and apart of me. His blood is my blood. His DNA is my DNA. His works are my works. His passions are my passions. "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." (Jn 15:5)

"For the death [Jesus] died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but grace. 

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaved of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free form sin, have become slaves of righteousness." (Rom 6:10-18)

That means I'm not running this show. Jesus isn't working on my terms. I'm working on his. I am a slave to Righteousness, not a slave to sin. I don't get to run red lights just because I'm having a bad day, and neither do I get to ignore the Great Commission because I feel like it. I'm no longer entitled even my own life. I surrendered my rights, my very life the moment I said "yes" to Jesus. I entered into a covenant with the Son of God that says: "You are both Lord and Savior and my life is yours, I am your bond servant. I will live my life bringing Glory to your Name." A covenant is not based on conditionals like a contract. Just because I do not like something or have found some "irreconcilable difference" does not allow me to walk away from my relationship with the Lord. "It's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me."

The world is waiting for this to hit home. Shall I turn the hungry away because I (Old Ashley) would rather play video games? Shall I say "no" to the poor because I (Old Ashley) would rather spend time at the pool with friends? Shall I not read my bible or pray because I'm not "feeling the presence" of the Lord? No! Did Jesus turn away his followers while He was yet in mourning over his cousin John's execution? No, until the very end, he denied his very divinity. God in the flesh was spit upon by his own people. The Creator was humiliated, rejected and crucified by His own creation. And in return he poured out His blood, His life, His very love all for them.

The sick, the hungry, the destitute are waiting and dying every day. Who is going to them? Who is going to share Jesus with them? Can I deny them simply because it's inconvenient or emotionally taxing? Before Jesus was arrested, He spent the night sweating blood in a garden and asking the Father for another way - if it was the Father's will. You think that wasn't inconvenient for him? You think Jesus enjoyed being slapped in the face by the children of His beloved Abraham? He bore the sins of entire world in His body on the cross. You think He didn't spend the last hours of his life in utter agony, sorrow and grief? So if the Son of God endured such torment as He did, what makes us, His servants, think we're somehow exempt from the same treatment?

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Phil 2:5-8)

While we were enemies, Jesus the Christ died for us. Not out of some emotional high he was experiencing, but out of obedience to the Father. He didn't wait to "feel" like it was time to be crucified. He made himself nothing so that the Father could exalt Him above everything. So there is no "me" or "you" in the picture. There is only Jesus. And Jesus commanded us to heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons - regardless of whether you're being wrecked by the Holy Spirit or just going through the motions.

The Gospel of John shares the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet. In this, Jesus gave them an incredibly accurate and effective summary of the past three years of His ministry on earth. Jesus lived in complete obedience to the Father and so displayed the purest and most abandoned form of servitude. Then he tells the disciples they are expected to go and do likewise: "You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you." (Jn 13:13-15) Notice he doesn't say, "Well, I mean, only serve when you have time in between church and lunch at Luby's. Or if you're feeling up to it."

It' not my will, but His will be done. Period.

Who will count the cost and count Him more worthy? Who will be obedient despite themselves? Who will be made a fool in the eyes of the world to be counted as wise in the eyes of the Father?

Wonderful Counselor

We're home from our month-long trip in Albuquerque and still waiting to hear back on the official offer for Michael's long-term assignment to India. So far all parties have agreed to the position and Michael's interview went well. All that's left now is for headquarters in Sweden to review the proposal and the contract will be sent to the U.S. By August fifteenth we should expect the proposal to arrive, which might impact when we actually move or it might not. But until we hear different, September first is still our "D-Day" for India.

It's been a rough time since we've been home. For me, the drive back was long and from the get-go, it seems like one thing after another has piled up. Everything from my aloe vera randomly dying to finding out my Grandma P's condition has become extremely poor. But the majority of concerns are family-related and it has me asking a lot of questions about how ready I am to be away from them for a year or more.

I've always struggled with carrying worry that isn't necessarily inside my boundary realm, so I've been having a hard time feeling guilty about moving away to India. A lot of the thoughts I've been wrestling with deal with abandonment: "Am I abandoning my family? Are we abandoning our family? Will I regret not taking advantage of being so close to them in the states?" Eventually, I shift my inward thoughts to God and approach Him with these questions.

So, the Wonderful Counselor listens and we work through it together.

Starting with... Where does my realm of control end and His begin? David says in Psalm 16:6: "The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places..." So I must remember that in all things God helps set healthy and "pleasant" boundaries in my life. Worrying for my family does not affect their situation one way or the other. And it says to God that I do not trust him to preserve their well-being. I cannot add or subtract one hair from my own head by worrying - much less someone else's head! God loves my family beyond comprehension. Can I tell God how to love them better? Will my worrying do a better job for them than the methods God is presently using?

Then I think: Is "abandon" even an accurate word? It's not like I own my family. God does. They're not "mine". They're God's. Only Jesus can truly be held personally responsible for every individual on the face of this planet. Being in Houston may grant me more physical access to my family; but it does not necessarily grant me access to their hearts, cares or concerns. How can I abandon what I never owned?

Guy walking on glass at River City Market

Despite these talks, my emotions have been getting ahead of me occasionally, and I still have more to process. But I will say that the last couple days have allowed me to focus on walking this out in the present-tense. I've been letting myself just experience the full realm of feelings attached with moving to a foreign place. And it's been good. It's almost like I woke up one day and was like, "Oh my gosh. We're moving to India." Then I got butterflies. We're really moving to India. Ok. I can do this.

God is with us and with our family at the same time. And I look to my Savior for an example of how to maintain peace in the midst of my worries. Jesus knew he was responsible for the salvation of the whole world, but he found time to sleep on a boat during a storm and have dinner with sinners and tax collectors. He told his disciples "Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is it's own trouble." (Matt 6:34) He did nothing apart from what He saw the Father doing (Jn 5:19) and was content to do His will.

(Haha.. gosh. If this past year has been anything at all, it's been one big lesson in contentment. I wonder what I've learned?)

I never want to forget that no matter how stressful this transition might get - it's for a reason and it's all just apart of the Adventure God has invited us to go on.

Are you in a season of waiting or rest right now? How have you been intentional during this time and what advice can you give others?