Dwelling in the Possibilities

In the midst of the gestures and words of welcoming, I was drawn like a moth to a flame to this littlest one. There in the arms of the one I would soon come to know as his father, was the most precious bundle of cuteness. Large chocolate almond eyes and the chubbiest cheeks I have ever seen melted my heart with each innocent, sweet giggle that passed through his lips.

Knowing what we were offering was not for ones so little, his presence was unexpected. Who was this precious one, I wondered.

Clarity came in the form of his mother. A dear young woman who bore this bundle of sweetness not more than 4 months ago – she needed what we were offering. Pain and dysfunction care not of age or circumstance. She knew that all too well. She lived it daily. She survived it moment to moment because she had no other options – until today.

As chaos and need overwhelmed us all, her voice was heard.

In that moment, her want united with our offering. Soon, upon a simple operating room table, a sacred communion of faith and grace was celebrated. With the last suture closed, a future and a hope were restored.

This young mother and I met in a moment of possibility. Together with a few hesistant steps we began a path toward potential. While my efforts were minimal, I continue to pray that her results are phenomenal.

Through a tearful goodbye, we promised each other much the same...she would think of us when she was chasing that bundle of cuteness around the home and I would envision her doing that very same thing...at those moments we would pray for the other.

Humbled by grace.
United in faith.

Love was made visible in that hospital in Ecuador.

May we all continue to dwell in the possibilities that began there!



© A Sacred Longing 2009

See you soon!

I am off to the airport. I don't know if I will have time or opportunity to blog from Ecuador. Thank you for your prayers and see you in a week!




© A Sacred Longing 2009

Whispers in the Wind

Each moment that I am given another breath is an opportunity to make my life count for the glory of God.

I am learning, therefore, that my life is a simple offering of choices. Even those choices that seem inconsequential have an impact of lasting proportion. That fact alone has given much pause to my spirit of late.

I have, for a good while, wanted to live my life in God's will. Yet, what this really meant has been an elusive search.

I had always assumed that bearing children and being a mother would be a part - a very large part - of my life. Are we not called to be fruitful and multiply? Is that not why we women are made and fashioned? When the days, months, years passed by without a pregnancy, doubt settled in. Where was God?

With doubt came an open doorway for fear to enter. Fear that I wasn't who I should be; that I wasn't ever going to have what I wanted; that my life would be insignificant and forgotton. Paralyzed and numbed by fear, I made choices that kept me hidden and irrelevant - the very thing that terrorized me was being fashioned by my very own hands.

So, I hid my search for God's elusive will. My choices were weak and half-hearted because I couldn't see the future. Weak choices - weak life. A wallflower existance in the midst of a garden of opportunity.

I lost sight of my purpose. I lost hope in my desires.

"Our desire to live should be for the sake and the glory of God, who put us on this earth in the first place." - Francis Chan

My hidden time searching for God's elusive will was wasted moments. Misspent and misdirected focus on a future that could never happen. It would never happen because by looking ahead, I missed the now - the foundational moments for what is to come.

My now is a whisper in the wind of my eternity. Yet, it is the point of departure for the future to come. Learning to choose for His glory in all things, small and large, I will be in His will. No need to search anymore. No need to hide anymore.

Live. Live now. Live in the fullness of God's grace and glory.

In doing so, I prepare now for a mission trip. This time tomorrow I will be on an airplane with its final destination in Quito, Ecuador. I pray that I will stand boldy and courageously in the strength of my Lord. I pray that I will be used as a vessel of grace and an ointment of healing balm to those on this surgical mission. I pray that all that I think, say or do will bring glory to the One who inhabits my very being.

(This photo was taken through an operating door in Nicaragua - our last trip)

© A Sacred Longing 2009

It's starting to become clear...

"When the darkness of our world, and all the fears we hold in that darkness are pierced by the light of God's love and by the possibility that God has other ideas in mind for how we are to live, something liberating happens. But there is also danger of our becoming mesmerized by the dazzle of the light. It can become quite comfortable, like a campfire. We can crawl up into the hands of God and fall asleep in the sweet aroma and cozy warmth, asleep by the fire. And much of the world lies in the cold, clammy darkness of human suffering, oppression, inequality."

The Irresistible Revolution, Shane Claiborne

As I said in my last post, I have really felt the whisper of God to my heart. An unsettling whisper it has been because it has no answers yet - no path to trod - just an awakening of sorts. Clearing of my vision and now I am starting to see.

Seeing beyond my warm and cozy existence.

Seeing outside my comfort and abundance.

Seeing past me.

I know that my trip next Saturday to Ecuador with Operation Walk has tendered my spirit towards missions. It doesn't surprise me that as I have moved through the bloggy world I have stumbled on some amazing stories and have had my heart pricked by those who have stepped beyond the safety of home and serve in the name of Christ.


Take a moment and visit a few....

Ali's African Adventures is full of experiences aboard a Mercy hospital ship off the coast of Africa.

The Livesay (Haiti) Weblog is the pilgrimage of a family living and serving in Haiti.

Oh Sweet Caroline is the journey of a young nurse in a small clinic in Haiti. She has just returned to the states but her archives are full of amazing stories.

The Journey - on earth as it is in heaven is an odyssey of one young girl who wanted to take a year off before college to serve in Uganda. She has started Amazima , a ministry to orphans. Incredible!

I encourage you to go, visit and stay awhile at each of their blogs. May your heart be pricked as mine has been.

Least you think that ministry has to happen overseas...check this out Ordinary Hero and be prepared to consider how close to home a need really is.

But before you go, please watch this video. It is beautiful.






© A Sacred Longing 2009