Stop!

Wow, that title takes me immediately back to Saftey City. Stop, drop, and roll. But today it wasn't firemen who were teaching me to stop if somehow my clothes caught fire. It was God.

This morning I turned in my final paper and said goodbye to friends. Amidst all that busyness, I was able to spend a few hours in a retreat with some friends. We spent time reading God's word, praying, and listening. The passage I chose to meditate on was Psalm 93 and the key thought I gleaned was that God reigns. God is all powerful, majestic, the King of Kings, and He tells me in Psalm 46:10 to cease striving.

I have been striving a lot lately, finishing finals and working. But when I strive, my time with God dwindles away. Now that finals are over I have two choices. I can either allow God to continue to occupy a tiny corner of my time, or I can agree that He knows best, to spend time in His word, to rest in Him, and to cease striving. I can feel now that striving leaves me exhausted and my Father wants better than that, so my current gameplan is to cease striving.

As to Thailand, I am going. Today is the first day I have begun to allow myself to fully expect to go to Thailand since school is finally finished. There are more ways I could strive to prepare to leave, but I think instead I'll work a little at a time, pray, and rest in God's provision.

I'll be praying that the Lord will allow me to be an encouragement to the Offutts, Weimers and Nesbitts (the families I'll be living with). I'll praise God for my passport arriving and ask him to expedite the arrival of my visa. And I'll ask for peace and wisdom in preparations and packing.