peace, a decision and a little humour

At the beginning of November I was asked by the youth pastor at my church if I would be the female leader for the Spring Break Youth Missions trip to Thailand. It was a total suprise to be asked primarily because I have not been involved with youth at the church and also I did not foresee any oversees trips this year. I told Jon I would think about it. And think and pray is what I did. Everyday it was on my mind, yet I did not have peace about a decison for a month. It was a long time of wondering if I would ever have peace about making a decision. To add to the mix I accepted a full time teaching position at Abby Christian beginning in mid- January. I'll be teaching grade 5! With the new position I wondered if I would need a break or if the trip would be a life-giving way to spend my Spring Break. I wondered so many things. I know it will be a different pace of life once January hits because having your own classroom involves a lot more prep work and time. Currently with Teaching on Call I usually leave school at 3:30 and I have no further planning to do in the evenings. It's been easy! Getting back to the story. Finally two Wednesdays ago,  I woke up with this peace about saying no to it.  At the end of the day, the Spirit of God wasn't leading me to do it. That's an interesting thought. It says a couple of times in Galatians to let the Spirit guide our lives and that has been why I've "had to go" in the past and yet this time it's the same but different. Three big things I was wrestling with were:

a. what others may expect of me,
b. what I expect of myself,
c. the thought that my "Missions DNA" would be stripped of me if I said no.

But the amazing part is that once we give Him those things and he exchanges them for himself, His peace comes and those things fall to the side. It was definitely an honour to be asked to lead in this way. I was thrilled at the opportunity to bring my own experiences and love for people and the world to the team (if I were to go). I'm so supportive of the trip, but this wasn't what He was leading me into at this time. One of the big things I learned is that the Spirit of God holds the trump card. I made my pros and cons list using my human rationale; however, it when the Spirit of God prompts you either to do/ or not do soemthing His voice is what ought to hold the most weight. I remember when I went to China and my parents wanted a reason for "WHY" I had to go and the reason I gave is that the Spirit of God is leading me to go. At the end, that answer satisfied. That answer outweighed any other.

Now back up to point "C" above. I have to laugh because although I have been on the on-call list at the Dasmesh Punjabi School here in Abbotsford, I hadn't received a phone call until Thursday morning (the day after saying no to Thailand). To me this correlates because it was the Father giving me that little reminder that he knows my heart and that he knows my love for the nations. It was a reminder that he does not take that away from me because I said no to Thailand. I ended up teaching there four days these past 2 weeks. On Friday it was Guru Nanak's bday, so the whole day was a religious ceremony all in Punjabi. I had to take off my shoes and wear a head covering. I jus stood there beside my class and prayed to Jesus the whole time. What an honour to get to stand in that place. I've had the privilege of being invited into that school. I've had the privilege of standing as an embassador of the High King, Jesus, and praying that individuals at that school would encounter His grace, love and peace.


So perhaps the "Big 3" I take from this experience is:
1. God does give us peace when we seek Him.
2. The Spirit of God sometimes leads us to go and other times leads us otherwise. The Spirit of God holds the trump card.
3. God knows our hearts. He made us who were are and he does not forget how he has made us.



~ One of my favourites! ~