Family

Today Leigh and I treated ourselves to some time to just "be" and enjoy reflection time, with of course some chocolate cake added in at a nice coffee house.  Here are some thoughts that are on my heart today. 

We had a beautiful start to the day with morning devotions at the base camp.  During the summer season of volunteers, these devotions happen on a daily basis, as in addition to all the important work that CLD does on the ground, they also have a passion for working in people's hearts by introducing them to a new relationship with Christ.  But, fall is a quiet time in the house, so the devotions were left to individuals to pursue on their own as they wished.  But yesterday Miriam, the office manager, felt it was time to bring them back and sent out a message for us to gather at 9:00 this morning as, "the family that prays together stays together." What an awesome thought even before the devotion took place.

So, all who were able gathered this morning and lifted each other up in praise, worship, testimonies and prayer requests.  No matter what your faith or beliefs, I wish that everyone could have such an experience to feel so loved and acknowledge the grace and struggles that exist in life and know that there are people walking your journey in life with you.  It is such a gift.

I still consider myself an observer and internal processor, so it is an adjustment for me to let go and share everything so freely as so many here do.  My emotions also get in the way of me expressing my thoughts as I usually end up in tears, but mostly tears of happiness and awe.  The thought that was in my heart and mind this morning as people were sharing was how blessed I am that in only two short months to feel that I have added a whole new circle of amazing people to my family.  Family is thee most important thing in my life and I have always been one who is content with my immediate family and small circle of trusted friends.  But, I sincerely feel that these people are now also family even though we live worlds apart.  Maybe when you go through such a big transition in life, the bonds you form with those helping and guiding you through this transition are much more intense and developed in a much shorter time frame.  In other words, they are your lifeline for survival and that is part of the role family has always played for me.  

I also was realizing what great opportunities I have had in these last 10+ years of life to work in settings alongside a "family" and not just colleagues.  I had this as a teacher at Arapahoe and here in Uganda I am working beside my new "family" every day.  While it can cause challenges to work like this, I think the positives far outnumber the negatives.   And yes...... I was also worried if Troy and I would survive working alongside each other this year as we have often joked that we could never do this, but happy to report we're still both alive.  We are learning that while we think very differently, at those times when we get annoyed by each other, if we take some space and take a step back, we can usually find the grace inside to revisit the topic and see the value in pieces of each our individual perspectives.  

On that note, think I will end there.  But, once again, just as I had been feeling a bit of sadness this past week missing family and friends as it's my favorite time of year as the holiday season draws nearer, God lifted me up today.  By day's end I felt as if it was one of my best days here and that this experience is one that is beyond my capability to explain how truly amazing, real, challenging, rewarding and a hundred other adjectives I can't even think of, is.  

~Heather