Yarn and the Yearning

When I turned 5 years old a sweet friend of my mom gave me a tadpole for my birthday. It was a special mail order kind, so I received a tadpole in the mailbox. I aptly named him Timmy and enjoyed watching him tun into a frog. He lived in a small aquarium perched atop my bathroom counter. Since I am an only child I talked regularly with Timmy and we shared many life events together. He died when I was 24!

So when Caleb turned 5, (Timmy had only been gone a few years) I wanted to pass along the experience. At Christmas, Santa left a tadpole for my kids to love and watch transform. This they did and after a few years  I was told Gilly needed a friend. So again, Santa left behind another another tadpole gift. When this one arrived, the kids chose the name Caspian after their favorite series at the time "The Chronicles of Narnia". Caspian was so cute and tiny compared to our larger frog.  Zach found it most interesting to watch him grow and announced regularly his growth progress. One evening as we were heading to bed, Zach (3) runs in our room full of excitement and expressively says, "Mom, Caspian is a frog! I'm serious. He made hisself into a FROG!"

One week ago, Adam and I stepped off a plane that took us all the way to Africa - and home again. The way that journey began and how God confirmed that we were both to go this year reminds me a lot of that story. Adam has been to Africa for 3 years now. Last year when he got home I said "You're not going by yourself again! If you go, I'm going too." So all year we planned to go together. However, when the trip was put together it was too long and more expensive than we thought-or could afford. So with a heavy heart we had to make the call that this year wasn't for us to go. Not long after that, we got news that the trip had been shortened to only being out one full work week, and the prices lowered after going with a different airline and fight plan. So we prayed about it again. The deadline came to purchase the tickets and we still did not have the money for it. We fully believed that if we were to go this year, God would provide the funds needed for the ticket in time.

We were not going to presume, so wholeheartedly prayed that God would show us. The next morning, the money was provided for us! As the tickets were purchased, Adam and I looked at each other and said, "We're going to Africa together! I'm serious, we really are. God provided a way!" God poured in enough financial support to meet every need on this trip - to the amazement of the whole team, we watched as He truly fashioned this group who went. Some who have never taught stepped up to teach pastors at the Pastor's conference; truly committing to do what''s uncomfortable.

For myself the task now focused on what do I speak about? I will have 3 one hour sessions covering marriage and family to a group of ladies I've never met, and in a country I've never been to. A peace followed that moment of anxiety when I realized the Lord I worship here, is the same in Africa. He doesn't change just because I cross state lines or American soil. He doesn't need a passport. He is God HERE and He is God THERE. The I AM that I AM.

So on that foundation I began to pray for the women I would meet and for God to give me His words to speak to them that would connect and apply to them, where they are. Let me say, the Lord is faithful! He supplied me with words, enabled me to speak those words and I believe they fell on hungry ears and hearts. I felt so inadequate and humbled to stand before them and speak anything because they were teaching me so much. Watching them pick up crocheting so easily and taking the basic single stitch we showed them and turning it into bags, hats, table runners, booties - was proof again how God takes what we give to Him and He produces far more than we fathom possible. The ladies were all so tremendously blessed to have a skein of yarn to call their own, a blessing made possible by the abundant provisions of God through friends here.

It's in those "Caspian's a frog!" moments in life we see a tiny glimpse of God's magnitude. It leaves us speechless and breathless.