One Day At A Time

This is a picture of a bee busy at work collecting nectar and pollen from a blackberry blossom. I suppose it's too small for you to really see. He's on the top left blossom.

And here is a picture of that same bee in flight, on to the next blossom or perhaps back to the hive to leave his bounty. He's towards the top of the picture. I know very little about bees but I recognize that he's accomplishing so much for the blackberry bush just by doing his job as bee to provide food for his colony. Everywhere he goes he's leaving an important pollen trail behind him.

When I started this blog it was a way to record what would be a big move for myself and to chronicle how God had blessed us along the way. Of course it was also a way to keep in touch with family and friends, both near and far, as we prepared to move. The main title of this blog doesn't make much sense right now since we're not at the camp. But the second line, "Our journey in stepping out in faith to serve the Lord", still hits the nail on the head. This is a journey!

We still have some interested parties who would like to buy the business but as of yet nothing has come of that. The house has had a few nibbles but no bites. Meanwhile, our baby girl's due date gets closer and closer, as does the beginning of homeschooling for our family. How do we balance stepping out in faith and being prepared to move when the time comes, with living in the now? This is so different for different people and, of course, some opposing positions on this subject rear their ugly heads even within our marriage. Some members of the family say, "Let's just get settled here until the time comes then pack up and go. In fact let's plan to ride out these next coming changes first." Other members say, "Let's stay all packed up so we're ready to go faster. Those other changes can happen any where and be fine." Since one family member has a human being growing inside her and is trying to run a household with many things packed up or even in another state you can imagine which position she might take for the time being. LOL!

When you sense God's specific call on your life, the waiting time can be excruciating. Like Sarah and Abraham, who were waiting for God's promise of children to be fulfilled, it would be easy to take matters into our own hands and try to force things to happen early. They tried to fulfill God's promise themselves by producing a child through another woman... not God's plan.

Now I don't think anyone in our family thinks we're in exile but I do think the passage reflects my own feelings most accurately...

Jeremiah 29:4 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. 7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." 8 Yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. 9 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them," declares the LORD.
10 This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

In my opinion, for some reason, we still have some time here in Salem that needs to be completed. So, I am choosing to really enjoy this stage we're in. The past three years have either been survival or a hurried preparation for service. I want to enjoy this house which is finally livable and to appreciate my husband's job which, for the most part, is pretty reasonable now. I'm choosing not to live in disappointment of what we don't have and to be open to what else may be. As for the details of how that looks in our day to day lives, well, that's still for Andrew and I to work out. So, I covet your prayers in that area. We need to compromise on how to live in this waiting time as we don't know how long or short it will be. However long it is, may we be like the bees and leave a beneficial trail of "pollen" behind us as we strive to be a blessing to people and every community that we live in.