Hello, all--
Tony and I rode 100 miles today on the motorbike. I am sitting gingerly, moving slowly and feeling every minute of my considerable years. Owwww.
During our trip (which was to attend a meeting), we stopped at a roadside cafe for a cold drink. We shared a soda for the whopping price of 8,000 dong (about 50 cents). Tony paid with a 20,000 dong bill. The cashier did not have any 1,000 denominations, so she used what she had--she gave him a 10,000 bill and two cigarettes! (I had to get a picture of Tony--it is on the blog.) It is not unusual to receive a piece of hard candy for small change, but the cigarette is a first. :)
Speaking of using what you have, I had an interesting conversation recently. I was talking with a missionary to another country. She has four children--all a little older than ours. She was "encouraging" me to make the girls "independent and responsible" so I could leave them with the housework, cooking, and preparations for guests while I went out to do "important work." But for me, the girls ARE the important work. This is what God has given me. I want to be faithful in it. As I do that well, I am confident He will send others to me to love in His name.
Of course, 100 miles on a motorbike gives one some time to think. Somehow I got to thinking about my growing up. My parents were divorced, so there was no father in the home, or really in the picture at all. I was pondering how that living arrangement affected my walk with Father today. Maybe because I felt securely loved, I have not questioned His love for me and I am able to give my love to Him. But I think that I am more self-reliant than I might have been, which has tended to make me independent and perhaps too tied to my own ways. I hope He deepens my prayer life and draws me close and quiet to His heart. I need Him. I need His voice. I need His strength and peace.
Today, I pray He calls you to Himself and speaks the words you most need to hear.
Grace and peace!
