Grace for each moment and living out my story of faith.

This blog has been rather quiet. It’s quietness has been an indication of the craziness of life for us this past week. I love how God speaks to me so often when I am in prayer for others. Last week I was praying for my dear friend, I was praying for grace for her as she lived out each moment. See she was tired and rest seemed far away so I was up on Friday (1 week ago) night praying scriptural truths over her, and asking God to sustain her moment by moment with His grace. At 9pm I rushed outside where the kids were camping to the sound no mother wants to hear in the middle of the night. My oldest was sick and throwing up. I’ll spare you the details but by morning I had two sick girls and not a single clean sheet, tent, towel or diaper (which I was using as rags) to my name.

Throughout that sleepless night God quieted me by reminding me that he was enough for this moment and kept me from worrying about what the future held. Graceful moments appeared in many ways this past week. Ngdang (my teammate) came and hand washed laundry and sheets and towels with me so we were ready for the day, by the evening Ginna (our friend/doctor in Kenya that does field triage for us over the phone) was walking me through hydration and fever options for my five year old, Claire (another teammate) had IV supplies and as I settled into the night shift of waking up Flower-girl every 10 minutes to try and hydrate once again I was amazed by Grace. Over the next week grace took many forms as sleepless nights turned into a sleepless week, and as we prepared to get swiftly out of South Sudan into Nairobi for medical treatment for the girls. Grace was fervent prayers being prayed on our behalf, the hug of a neighbor, the pickup trick that took us to the airstrip, dinner cooked for our family, a bathroom just when we needed it, a pilot who put a bucket in the back for our journey, a reason to laugh when I wanted to cry, Claire’s presence and comfort, ice cream in our fridge when we arrived, the Arabic vocabulary to tell the janitor of the mess we had created in the bathroom, the hug of a friend at the airport, Debbie waiting at our apartment and care packages on the table, the taxi trip to the hospital, the unexpected toys in the waiting room, a book to read when I needed to be distracted, a toothbrush dropped off at the hospital, some kids dvd’s on loan and a warm meal when we were too tired to cook.

Every day I am in the midst of living out the story of Faith God has for me. My story of faith looks different then yours, then my kids, then my husbands but the beauty is that God gives me grace to wake up each day and step forth into the story He has written for me. That Friday when the girls got sick had I known what my week held I would have cried I CANNOT DO THIS! That cry would have been correct, I do not possess the strength to navigate sickness, traveling, doctors offices and hospitals with sick kids in a culture I am not familiar with…but as I leaned into the grace provided for each moment and walked down my story of faith God brought to me more strength then I could have imagined, not in excess but moment by moment when I needed it most. I am living out my story in ways I never anticipated and experiencing joy and grace moment by moment in ways I never dreamed.

We are still suffering from sleepless nights and while better Flower-girl is still sick but the God who provided grace for what lies behind us will faithfully provide us grace for what lies ahead as we lean into the story of Faith He has laid out for us and take joy in the many ways He gives us grace when we need it most.