Yarn & Flying

Flying! I dislike it, or at least I think I do. Maybe it is because of the few times that I flew with my dad. He always did like to scare me while we were up there!

But....fear can be a big dream stealer.

I have the opportunity this summer to go to Africa. It is a great ministry opportunity. And it has definitely been a God thing. First let me explain: (to make a long story short)

I am involved with a home for unwed mothers. Our staff had the opportunity recently to go to an international conference. The day before we left, a friend of our family that is serving in China called and said that he had the greatest opportunity for my husband and I to serve in Africa at a Christian school there. I said, "why on earth would I want to go to Africa of all places".....(ps....don't say things like that....God has a great sense of humor!!)

Well, we went to the conference and while we were there we met a neat woman from.....AFRICA. That began the whole Africa thing. We talked with her... and then suddenly our hearts were drawn there. On the way home we talked about how neat it would be for the birthmothers living at the home to knit and crochet baby blankets to send over to Africa. That way they could pour out a part of themselves to someone else in another country.

We got back to the ministry and the next day a guy comes in and says that he has some yarn to donate to the ministry (no joke!!) and wanted to know where he should put it. I told him that he could put it in my office. He looked at me strange and said...."it's too large of a box",...I thought to myself....how much yarn can this be and who knew that we needed yarn? I met the guy at the loading dock and he unloaded a refigerator sized box full of skeins of yarn... I almost started crying. The man that had donated it had a business across the street selling applicances. He had no idea that we were wanting yarn....he just donated it because his mother no longer knitted or crocheted. WOW God is so good. Well the birthmothers got excited and everyone left that day with a couple of skeins of yarn. (since then customers, supporters of the ministry, and many others have come into the office to pick up yarn to knit blankets)

A month ago, a partner of the ministry walks into my office, sits down and asked me what my plans were for the summer. I was caught off guard with his question. After a minute he asked, "how about going to Africa?" First response? No Second thought: No Third thought: I better ask God.

Well (believe me I am trying to keep it short but God has done so much to tenderly show me His hand in this) I will just give you the highlights. He has been literally in my face about going. I have been trying to figure out such dumb questions like: "why me?" Don't get me wrong it is not that I don't want to go, I just wonder out of all the people that this man knows....why did he choose me? Well he said that the Holy Spirit led him to me. I believe that. I am not joking when I say that God has chased me about going. Everything that I pick up or listen to or see is abotu AFRICA!! Last night, I finally got the message loud and clear. I went to a prayer meeting. There is a man there gifted in praying for people and has the gift of knowledge. I asked that I would know beyond a shawdow of a doubt that Africa was the place God wanted to use me. I also asked him to pray that I would no longer have a fear of flying. He did. Then I went home, got up the next morning, and went to work. At work I have an email that comes maybe once or twice a month that contains some really neat devotionals. The devotional for January 7, 2008 was "No Fear of Flying" Yep that's right. I froze at my desk and slowly opened up this truly neat and God inspired devotion just for me.

I will quickly summarize it and bring this to a close:

A pastor had to give the children's sermon one Sunday and after running out of creative things to use, he came across some milkweed branches. These have blow away seeds in them that float once you blow on it and then softly land on the earth. He used these to demonstrate how God blows us and how we can trust him....then a young one piped in from the audience and said..."yeah because God knows where we are going to land." God says we CAN fly because He knows where we are gonna land. !!! What a big lesson and a big confirmation in my decision to go to Africa.....because God is blowing me.....and He knows just where I am going to land!!

Question: What holds you back from pursuing your dream? Is it fear? What others think? Fear of success? Fear of failure? Where would you like to land?

Can you believe it....God really does want us to achieve our dreams?
Blessings,
Lesa