Peace and Love of God Which Surpasses All Understanding.

Rain drops patter on the roof of the guest house tonight as the day is done. I don’t mind the rain now. I am inside, curled up in bed, and next to the foot of the bed is a heat lamp to ward off a little bit of the chill. The lamp casts orange light and shadows across half of my room which adds to the cozy feeling. Songs of freedom are playing, no words are needed, and I am thankful as it does not distract my thoughts but inspires them. It is getting late and usually I would be turning off my light pretty soon to sleep but tonight my mind still stirs and I can’t ignore it.

Today was a routine day. In fact I did today what I do nearly every day. I did the unusual. The longer I am here the more I am getting used to doing the unusual. One thing I will confess though is that it is not easy a lot of the time. Many days, like today, have moments of both laughter and tears. Sometimes this is the hardest. To have two honest and often contrary emotions present in a short time frame. Dealing with both joyful and sorrowful situations at the same time can be hard as it takes a mental change in thinking to process the different situations. I am thankful that though there are so many situations around me that could keep me down and feeling sorrowful I am able still to laugh and to experience also situations of joy and encouragement.

When lives are lost it brings the most pain to me. Both lost in death but also lost to the world. Many are sick, disease ridden, hurting, broken, and fighting against the love of God. When I feel overwhelmed by sorrow for both of these I am constantly strengthened by the knowledge of God’s sovereignty in the lives of every single person. I know God uses man but in the end not I or any other human being is needed for God’s plans to come to pass and this gives me comfort. Though times of sorrow and tears are not uncommon I am thankful for the more frequent times of peace God has allowed for me and the other staff of EWF. There are times when in the human perspective a person should be sorrowful or fearful yet they are able to experience an amazing comfort and peace which I know is found only In our God. He has also given to us a love of each other so that through each other we can be an encouragement and comfort. There have been many times in the past couple weeks when we have been able to reassure, comfort, and even rebuke each other in love. It is a love which God gives and calls us to use and I am so very thankful for this gift.

Hard decisions are part of life, sometimes I am the one who needs to make these decisions and other times I watch as it is made by someone else. Other times decisions are not an option because of the even harder reality of the situation and the lack of options available to be had at the time or place. In my opinion it is much harder to see someone struggle with accepting things the way they are than someone who struggles deciding what option to choose. Many people are looked down on for not trying to change their situation, for not making good choices, or for not looking for options. I have seen examples of these, but I have also seen situation where there are no options, or the options are inconceivable.  Seeing a person deal with this type of situation is often painful. I've seen complete defeat. Some though are defeated over and over again and others when defeated surrender their lives to God and stand victorious. There are many people in Richmond who need to bring their defeated lives to the foot of the cross and surrender to God. To put their trust in him and allow him to take control of their lives instead of trying to do it themselves. I've learned this lesson before but am reminded again and again that I need to surrender my life, my plans, my thoughts, my attitudes to God and ask him to control them for me so that they will turn out for good and give him all the glory and honor. Tonight I pray that this truth would be seen for many of the people of Richmond. 

I pray that Richmond as well as you may know the peace and love of God which surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:7, Eph 3:19).

Love Laina