Far away still

It is ironic, that I still feel far away.  As a missionary, you deal with being away from  your families while serving in a foreign country.  It is the bittersweet time of waiting for that skype call and coordinating  the dinner/parties so that you come home to receive or make the long distant call.  Well, now I am back home in Alaska with some relatives near (my parents are thousands of miles away).  It was special to enjoy the celebration at church and with them for a lovely simple dinner.  Nevertheless, I spent some of the day praying and missing my African family.  Now, I have the reverse to miss.  But, I did get to make the skype call to Africa and greet my dear friend Mary.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha's World: Lord don't you care?

Okay Blog world,  I am thinking back to where I have felt overwhelmed to the point of either depression or lack of motivation to do anything.  The biggest example is when it is time to move for me. Thankfully being a missionary, I got to cross that hurdle multiple times.  Moving that is.  Sometimes I did great, but most of the time I wanted to hide and sleep. Not wanting to face the boxes, and the reality of transition that is not what I would of chosen. I hated the fact to leave people I love.  It is a form of rebellion that I see in my life.  If I do nothing, than we won't move.  :) Silly if you think about it.

I am like Jonah who hid in the bottom of a ship going the opposite way when God wanted him to do something he didn't want to do.  Or like my daughter who can hide in the most awkward places when called on for her chores.

However, the best advice I learned is to take baby steps. Sometimes I just set the timer for 15 minutes to work. Then I will take a break.  Often in those 15 minutes I do see some inroads into the giant task and it motivates me to keep moving. And also to trust the God of the Universe really does know best.  I also have people pray for me and ask me what I did during the tough times when I would rather just hide in my bed and sleep.