"The Fellowship of the Rings"

Ok, here's the story....A while back I was wondering through my house on my way to bed and I noticed that a window in the guest room had been left open. The windows on the houses here swing open and all the homes have wrought iron on the doors and windows. So any who.... I was swinging the window shut and something fell on my hand. It turned out it was a gecko. It didnt really scare me, but I guess it is just natural instinct to recoil your hand in that type of scenario. ( Its natural instinct here in Africa anyway!) As I was quickly pulling my hand back through the window a ring on my RIGHT ring finger got caught on the wrought iron and wedged over my knuckle. Boy did it hurt!! I am positive the pain would have brought a lesser woman to her knees!! I did manage to get the ring off before the swelling ensued and made a mental note to close the windows before dark. The next morning I was in a particularly good mood bopping around the house when I decided to run and see how far I could slide down my hallway. (I dont know if these impulses strike other healthy middle aged adults, but it struck me. Who knows, maybe the gecko bit me when it fell on me the night before and I was suffering from gecko toxicity?) Anyway, I got a good running start and down the hall I went. I was pretty much on a record setting slide when I slammed my left hand on a doorway as I went past. The pain that shot up my LEFT ring finger would have again, surely would have killed a lesser woman! What exactly do you think the odds are of having both of your ring fingers bruised and swollen at the exact same time? I would love to ask the question, "Does stuff like this only happen to me?", but I can hear my friends and family laughing and saying, " Yes!!"

Settling

Have you ever noticed the phrase on cereal boxes that reads, "Contents may settle during shipping."? For the last several days I have been thinking about that phrase. ( Yes, I know, I am a very deep thinker! Some people meditate on world peace while I dwell on messages printed on cereal boxes!! :-0) Amazingly enough, my deep pondering brought me to the conclusion that my heart was still in the process of settling here. To the casual observer, I believe that my life does look for the most part, settled. I have a house that is now furnished. I have a vehicle. I have a church. I have developed a few routines and a few friendships, but inside my heart still felt disjointed and discombobulated at times. I almost cried a couple of weeks ago when one of my friends wrote and said that I needed to write and "tell her about my exciting life in Africa." Many days my life is anything but exciting. Most of my days are spent are trying to figure out this new language, people and culture that I have been dropped into. I have had frequent battles with culture shock and have come to the most undesired conclusion that I have serious control issues, and that much to my disdain, there is absolutely nothing that I can control here.... Nothing. A few days ago I was at a really difficult place with all of this when Jesus, in His lovingkindness, told me to let my heart settle into Him here, not Africa. He reminded me that my physical address is not the home of my heart, nor will it ever be. He is the home of my heart. Since that time I have found a new peace and my heart is finally settling into Him again. Isn't it amazing that there really is nothing that we can go through that Jesus Himself didn't already go through? Jesus moved. Jesus grieved. Jesus experienced loss. He chose to leave His home and family of 30 years and be homeless and unemployed for 3 years. There really is no grief or heartache that He Himself has not already experienced. Now THAT is love: to go through every grief and sorrow INTENTIONALLY so that He could fully identify with us. What a crazy amazing love! What a Savior!!!