Above the Clouds

My stomach twisted with anxiety as the plane launched into the shrouded dawn and the lights of Houston shrank beneath me. I felt as helpless over my future as I was over the aircraft's trajectory. The past weeks had been crammed with working nights, mailings, traveling, scheduled interviews; I barely had time to think, or more importantly, to pray about Sudan. The time that I had spent hiking and in prayer was pressured by time constraints. Finally, now that I found myself en route to Charlotte for Sudan field-training at SIM headquarters, I realized that exhaustion had found me.

There is no time more powerfully spent than being quiet before the Lord. In the light of His perfect love, He beautifully confirms His sufficiency for my inadequacies. I prayed and surrendered my fears regarding support raising and nursing in Doro; "Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you," (1 Peter 5:7). Peace enveloped me as the plane slid through layers of clouds, gliding smoothly like a needle through cotton. Then I was suspended in a pristine dawn above an endless foamy sea. The morning was a rainbow; it boasted brilliant red on the horizon and spread its dazzling palate across the sky. Realizing that God had painted this living dawn for such a small audience, I was so comforted that He knows the view above the clouds as well as that of the darkness.

He knows what He has created me to do and will walk with me through the steps to Sudan. When I become focused on myself and my needs, I see only the darkness and rain; I feel the lack of control acutely. But living in full reliance on Christ's will for my life is the best place to be; the assurance of Christ's beautiful love gives me confidence of His provision in my life. And there is nothing that I want more than to be His light in a dark world!

"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, finding out what is acceptable to the Lord." Ephesians 5: 8, 10