-
Embracing Inevitable Change
After my husband and I had completed language school and taken a survey trip, we left the expat-saturated city to set up home and ministry in a new field on an eastern island in Indonesia. When the whole team finally gathered—five families and one single man—we excitedly began to settle in, strategize, and get to know each other. Just a few months later, the phone rang in the early hours of the morning. The frantic voice of my teammate called out, “We’ve been robbed. My husband’s been cut. Send help.” He had in fact been seriously wounded and her call started a chain of events that changed our lives. What…
-
When Life Gets Hard, Take a Step
I think most of us would agree. The past two years haven’t been our best ones. Death and disease flood our newsfeeds. Disaster and destruction shock us far too frequently. Chaos and questions keep us unsettled. Just when we think life is returning to a normal pace, another unwelcomed surprise forces us to change course, adjust, delay. For someone who thrives on consistently, I often wonder where the routine has gone. But as I reflect over the past year, I see one main theme emerge in my life—take a step. For the first part of 2021 a black cloud seemed to hover over my existence. Fear kept me wondering what…
-
Frail Woman, Fierce Faith
I remember sitting on her emerald and cream flowery sofa. She appeared frail with her coiffed white hair, arthritic hands, and five-foot frame. But as she spoke, I noticed something fierce gleaming from behind her gentle demeanor. This woman—widowed, aging, and often forgotten—possessed great faith. Now as a married woman myself, I hold such women in high esteem. It’s difficult to be a widow. In Paul’s day, it was downright dangerous. Consider the description he gave the Ephesians regarding the widows entrusted to the church’s care. “She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day”…
