We seem to have a recurring theme in our lives and on this blog:
God has a plan and His plans are perfect.
This afternoon on my drive back from Port I was reflecting on this and the perfect timing of everything. I was wishing I could give in and trust fully in that, and stop being proud when things go my way. (As if I have anything to do with it.) I was thinking about the timing of meeting Davis Zachary and talking to him about generators right before our generator fried. (I learned today that the cylinder with no compression had gouges in the cylinder and piston head, and the other one was beginning to show the same damage. It is being rebuilt and we should have it back Saturday morning, God willing - or as the Haitians are always saying: Si Bondye Vle - If God Wants.) I learned a great deal and found out about some excellent contacts from him in those conversations. I also realized that we just "happened" to have another vehicle here and available this week. (Another missionary couple is back in the States and parked their truck here while away.) This week our two trucks have been tied up - one was in Port at the hospital, and the other is parked with a generator mounted on it. Tonight when I was walking back to the house, I noticed a flat tire on that truck that I used today to generator-shop and carry the new batteries home. We have had four or five flat tires on various vehicles since we have been here. (I can't imagine why, the roads are so nice.) Every time we have noticed this after the truck is parked here at the mission where we can easily repair it or replace it. Either all of the tires have popped in our driveway, or they have just "happened" to hold enough air in them to make it safely home each time. These little things are adding up. I don't think they're just "things" either. They are God's plan and timing in action. Some would call them miracles, but I just think that's the way God works. As our family likes to say: "God is good like that."
Speaking of Davis Zachary (the father of the family that runs the incredible medical clinic in Cazale), he called me today. He said he was going to be heading up this way earlier this week, and wanted to come out and see how things were going and if he could help out. During some prayer time, he felt a prompting from the Holy Spirit telling him to wait, that God needed to help me learn some things on my own. I almost started crying when he told me about it, because I definitely had a sense of that this week. That was confirmation for me of my earlier reflection on "God equipping the sent". I can stop doubting...we are fully equipped to handle ANYTHING that comes our way. Not through any knowledge or power we posess on our own, but through working through and within His plan with His Spirit. What a relief! And praise God for it all!
Another reflection from today: God always answers prayers. It may not always seem like it, until you realize that doesn't necessarily mean you'll get the answer you want. I like the message I heard recently...The prayers are always answered - sometimes with a yes, sometimes with a no, and sometimes with a not yet. The "not yets" seem to come often for us, but as we learn to work in the "plan", it's getting easier to wait and trust. That's a big part of what faith is all about, we're just a little slow figuring it out. We had to get sent to a third-world country in order to get it. Yes, you can consider that a warning. :)
Did I say I wouldn't blog much? I guess I meant "not yet".
Jeremiah 29:11 - (NIV) For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.
