Ordinary Beauty

My days are filled with small things...small people (my kids and neighbor kids), small steps towards growth (in patience, love, communication, friendship, physical exercise etc.), and many small delights (flowers, conversations, laughter, rainbows). Please enjoy with me a few of the ordinary things (in my home and around the area where I live) that I have noticed that are very beautiful.

Who can resist a baby's beautiful smile? :)

This is an amazing fern-covered fence!

Ariella with the beautiful fence.

A beautiful day! And fun on the swings!

The beauty of gently holding a baby rabbit.

Ariella is picking flowers with a very sweet Indonesian girl.

This is Zoe playing "airport"...a game where she brings her doll in her stroller to the airplane that she sets up (plastic chairs in front of the washing machine). The stroller is stowed under the sink, and then she and her baby (or babies) travel to Indonesia. One day when playing this I explained to her that Indonesia is where we live now...and she told me that Indonesia is her "favorite world." I think the beauty of her creativity and play and happiness to be here is delightful!

A rainbow seen from our back yard.

Daniel reading a bedtime story to Zechariah.

Zoe enjoying the beautiful fire pit.

I hope you enjoy these glimpses into my life. Life with my kids seems to take more patience than I have and some things in my life seem to take more courage than I can muster up. But I am trusting God to help me to be patient and brave. And gratitude for the beauty around me helps me as I slowly grow and learn. Where do you see beauty in the ordinary things in your life?

Comings and Goings

"The LORD watches over you--

the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all harm;;

he will watch over your life;

the LORD will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore."

Psalm 121:6-8

Psalm 121 has been very encouraging to me lately, because I feel like my life is full of "comings and goings". I am choosing to trust God to watch over me through all of these transitions.

Zoe and I just spent almost a month in the US visiting family and so that I could be the matron of honor in my friend's wedding. We arrived back in Indonesia on Wednesday, and are happy to be reunited with Daniel. Tomorrow (Monday) morning we will move to Nabire, a town that is about a 2 hour flight on a small airplane from where we have been living for the past 13 months. Most of our belongings have already been shipped there, and it will be fun to unpack and set up our home. Then sometime in October (perhaps the 19th?) we will come back to Sentani where we have been living to wait for our baby to come. I anticipate that we will live here for a month or longer.

When I look behind me and in front of me I see lots of changes! How will all the details of setting up our home, learning where to shop, and making new friends in Nabire come together? How will birthing my baby go, and what will it be like to go from a family of 3 to a family of 4? How will I teach Zoe to be kind to her little sister?

There is so much that I do not know. I am so glad that I know that the Lord is watching over me and He will help me with whatever comes in the days ahead!

30 weeks pregnant and moving tomorrow!

Becoming Brave (Overcoming Fear)

For me this year has been about being courageous—in Indonesian, berani.  It has taken a lot of courage to move halfway across the world, learn a new language and culture, and birth my first baby in a foreign country.  I need courage each day to drive my scooter to language school because I still am afraid to drive here.  I need courage to try to communicate with people in a language that I am not yet proficient in.  I also need courage to allow friendly people—even strangers—touch and hold my baby. 

A little more on the topic of my baby being touched: Zoe is very popular here.  Girls walking home from school want to touch and kiss her.  Indonesians at restaurants ask to hold her and have their picture taken.  Most people who come near her touch her hand, clap near her face, or poke her cheeks.  She is generally friendly and tolerant.  What a blessing to have an outgoing, smiley baby in a culture where babies are highly valued and always touched!  Zoe opens a door for conversations with new people every day.

So where does the courage to smile when potentially germy people kiss Zoe, drive my little scooter, try to communicate even though I often get things wrong, and generally live so far from “home” come from?  I am encouraged by God, my friends here in Indonesia, and by people who love me and pray for me back home. 

When Joshua was going to lead the Israelite people to the land where God wanted them to live, God told him “Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).  I am encouraged because I know that God is just as present here in Indonesia as he is in the United States, in my parents’ home, in my churches, and in any other place on earth.  I do not need to be afraid to live here.

In July I was in labor in the hospital for a full two days before Zoe was born.  When I was exhausted and wondered if I would be able to finish, God reminded me of a verse in the Bible that I memorized as a child: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).  I am so thankful to be following a God who is alive and who helps me in the times of my deepest need!

This morning I was reminded that I am not the only one who needs help overcoming fear daily.  In fact, I think my experience may be normative for a lot of people (or at least women) here (and probably in other places too)!  At my small group fellowship meeting this morning we read Luke 12:6-7 "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?  Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.  Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."  Two other women mentioned how this encourages them not be afraid...one even talked about trusting God to protect her children and when driving a scooter! 

What about you?  Are you often afraid?  What helps you to overcome fear and to live your life courageously?