In the summer of 2002, ten of us sat around in a room in Kampala, Uganda with our team leader, Alan, leading us through a debriefing. He talked about things such as "re-inculturation" and "shelf life"...we were challenged to think on all the things we had learned in the 5 weeks we spent in rural Uganda and to take them to heart. Most lessons have a certain shelf life where it is of utter importance to really implement the lesson in your life or it will fade away as you get re-inculturated to the States. That thought has been roaming around my head lately.

In the last week, its like God took a spot light and just shined it into the fog of my life and made some things really clear about this last year. I have felt a joy creeping in that seems almost foreign to me as I have not experienced it for sooo long. I can't help but laugh at the simplicity of the things He has used to soften me up. He has used a book, a CD, and some good friends. It's crazy, really. I wish I could share on here all the things I am learning, but I'm not willing to step out like that right now for fear that I will say something and have it taken the wrong way.

It's strange, I feel so different than I did even the last time I was home last summer...I am seeing my life and life in general through entirely different eyes. And its such a beautiful thing. Painful, but beautiful nonetheless. I finished another book today. Here are a few things from the last few chapters that I want to share with you...

"God redeems our pain and sorrow. Nothing that has happened to us is lost in His hands."

"When we offer the painful things in life to God, He is able to bless them and bring hope and life to others through our brokenness."

"God gives us a new beginning only when His grace is there so we can accept it and walk in it."

"Following Christ is a direct call to let go of our human need to understand everything and trust God."

"Those who were able to bring their doubts and fears, into the presence of God, and who truly wrestled with their faith, found a faith that could withstand anything. Doubts unexpressed isolate us and drive us from the heart of God. God's heart is big enough to carry whatever burden you are bearing."

-Sheila Walsh, "Extraordinary Faith"