Only 1 weeks of ministry left. Not really sure how I’m
feeling about that… Mainly because joy from reflecting on my time here plus
sorrow about leaving plus anxiety and excitement about going home equals a
whole lot of emotion that I don’t really have time to deal with right now! Not when
I have so much more of India to enjoy in so little time!
Earlier this week while I was chatting with God about this
very subject, He brought me to Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. A time for everything. There
is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. While
here I’ve had times of laughter and weeping, planting and uprooting, tearing
and mending. I’ve searched and given up, mourned and danced. My life has been
torn down and built back up and new things have been born and others died. In God’s
timing, everything has its place.
Three months ago it was time for me to come to India. Why, I
didn’t know… I only knew it was God’s plan. Coming to the end of my trip, I see
why God has brought me here for such a time as this. My team, the season of the
ministry, the people I met and the places they were at in their lives. But this
season is coming to an end. So what’s next?
I don’t really know, honestly. But is that maybe a good
thing? Shouldn’t we always be asking what season is next? If we weren’t, that
would mean that we weren’t growing, changing, seeking, or moving in our walk
with God.
Sitting in pre-school this morning I started thinking about
having to say goodbye to the kids. With Ankit sitting in my lap, I started
sizing him up to my suitcase… surely he’ll fit… Anyways, I started thinking
about what I wouldn’t give to see these kids in 20 years. Will they have
finished school? Will they be on their way to fulfilling the dreams they have
now, or will they be a person they never thought they would be? I’m only here
for a short season of their lives, but who knows how this season will lead them
into the next. Maybe me being here and teaching them is exactly what they
needed at this time.
I pray that I never become too lazy or comfortable in my
faith that I become afraid of new seasons. God has a time for everything, and
my time in India is almost up. I know that some of my time here has been
planting, but I will be rejoicing when I meet these sweet faces in heaven and
see the reap of His harvest. I look forward to that day. Until then, I’ll keep
enjoying the seasons God brings me through, learning and laughing my way
through each one of them!
