I’m up early.
The house is full – college kids who are getting much-needed rest during spring break, a son who has flown in to help me with a film project, a friend from days long ago in Pakistan. We calculated that we haven’t seen each other for 26 years.
That’s a lot of years.
I curl up on the couch in my safety position – hands cupped around a hot cup of coffee.
I think about the Malaysian plane — still not found after all these days. A plane that has people from many nations trying to piece together a puzzle. What happened when the last ping was identified? Where did the plane go? More importantly – why?
I think about Syria – about kids who don’t have a clue what it’s like to curl up in their ‘safety’ positions. Safety is a thing of the past, a distant memory. Safety is a longing for the future. Our new Syrian friends have just given birth to a baby girl. If a baby is “God’s opinion that the world should go on” then surely she is hope. Hope for a future where they can return to their home in Damascus.
I think about my friend who flies out today – heading to be with a mom newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Her heart is heavy, her fears real.
I think about Djibouti – how I’ve ended up with a friend who lives there. A friend who daily lives out her faith, her calling in a place that sometimes feels like home — and sometimes does not.
I think about my parents - thankful that their deep love for God is lived so faithfully. That I have a heritage that cannot be shaken.
I think about my own kids – each with their particular joys, each with their current sorrows. And our family – always in process, ever needing to forgive and learn to love well.
So I’m up early. And the word of God is by my side. I know that within this book are words that live. I know that within this book is the Living Word. A Word that is strong enough to still my thoughts, big enough to comfort my soul.
A plane is still missing. Syria still has war. My friend’s mom still has breast cancer. But my heart is stilled and quieted. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to be still and know that he is God.
He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10
