Back to Real Life

We arrived at our home in Uganda on Thursday evening, got very little sleep due to jet lag, and then spent the day on Friday unpacking. Since one of my kids wanted to go to town to see friends and we needed some groceries, I drove to town. While I was there, a bolt loosened on the slide door of our van and I was unable to close the door. I tried to tighten it with my fingers, getting covered in grease in the process, but was unable to fix it without tools. 

Since we were going through airports for our travels, I had removed my pocket tool from my bag and could not fix this problem on my own. I called David to explain that I would be late and to figure out who to call for help. We have a friend who is an engineer who lives near the place we were stuck and figured he would have the tools and would be able to help solve this problem. He graciously came and brought the tool to fix the door.

On Saturday, David took the boys to town to play rugby and to go to a men’s Bible study. I took the girls and some friends in to town a little later to visit with friends there and do some more grocery shopping. David took our younger children home soon after lunch. I ran some more errands and then collected the people I was bringing home. As we crossed the Nile, my tire exploded and stripped itself bare. We limped across the rest of the bridge and pulled off the road. The spare had just been put on since the previous tire had many punctures and was almost completely flat. So I had to call for help again. 

Those who know me, know that I don’t love asking for help. I would much rather have changed the tire on the side of the road myself. But that was not possible, so we waited for our mechanic to send someone with a replacement tire. This time it was about an hour of being stuck on the side of the road. 

While sitting there, I had some time to reflect on how God uses these everyday struggles to grow me. First, I am learning that it is okay that I need help from others. I enjoy helping, but don’t like to need help myself.  God put us in families, churches, communities for many reasons. One reason has been to humble me and teach me that I cannot do it all on my own. I still wish I could, but I also am thankful that God has blessed us with a community here in a “foreign” country that doesn’t seem so foreign anymore. I am so thankful that there were several people who I knew I could call for help in both situations. 

Additionally, I was reminded that we make our plans, but the Lord determines our path. It was my plan to get home in time to make dinner, but as it turned out, David took care of all of that. I need to hold my plans loosely and trust God to work out the details. 

It occurs to me that both of these lessons are ultimately about trust. Do I trust that God provides for me.through community or do I think I need to be Abe to do everything on my own? Do I really trust that God’s plan for my day is better than mine? I am thankful that God continues to give me opportunities for growth, but I also wouldn’t mind a simple trip to town. So I will pack my pocket tool and take time to pray and prepare my heart for whatever He has for me tomorrow. 

An Indistinct Word

During our time here in the US, we have stayed in several different homes. As we were discussing our plans the other day, we talked about going here and there visiting with various people and then going back to the house where we are staying as “going home.” My middle child said, “Home is an indistinct word for us right now.”  His observation struck me. Our house in Uganda feels like home for us all. 

But traveling around, visiting with many people, we have been staying in several different homes. Many people also say to us, “Welcome home!” When we are here in the US, there is some sense of coming home, but there is also a sense of missing our home in Uganda. We sometimes feel like we don’t quite fit here in American culture. I am reminded of this song by Jim Reeves:

This world is not my home I'm just a passing through, My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue, The angels beckon me from heaven's open door, And I can't feel at home in this world anymore

One of my closest Ugandan friends had this song on her phone as her ringtone. It has always been a beautiful reminder to me. While living cross culturally has its challenges, one of the blessings is that home is an indistinct word for us on this earth. It helps us to remember that our true home is in heaven with God. 

As we prepare to travel back to our home in Uganda, I am thankful for our home there. I am also thankful for that many who have welcomed us into their homes here in the US. And I am thankful that through faith we can look forward to our eternal Home in heaven, where we won’t have to keep saying goodbye to loved ones. 

Every Need

“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians‬ ‭4:19

I recently went for a walk and listened to the book of Philippians. I have always appreciated different aspects of this book of the Bible, but something new struck me this time. The verse above does come in the context of the apostle Paul talking about the Philippian church helping provide for his physical needs, but it also comes after him saying that he has learned to be content whether well fed or hungry, living in abundance or in want. (Philippians 4:11-12) 

So what does it mean that “my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory.” It certainly means that I don’t need to worry about how my needs will be met. This is a good reminder for someone like me who lives on support and often struggles with worry. That is the primary way I have understood this verse for many years. But as I listened to this entire book of the Bible, I was struck with a new thought. This verse says that God will supply EVERY need. Lately, the physical needs of myself and my family have been amazingly and graciously supplied by God through his people. We have vehicles to drive, food to eat, places to stay. But the thing I have the most trouble with is trusting that God will provide the emotional, relational and spiritual needs of myself and those I love. 

As I look around at how lavishly God has provided for our physical needs, I want to trust and remember that in Christ Jesus, all of these other needs can and will be met. Meditating on this entire book of God’s Word helps redirect my thinking and teaches me to trust him, not only with caring for our physical needs, but also caring for all the other aspects of need and brokenness in our lives. Our God who loves us enough to provide for our physical needs through so many of you will also refresh our souls and strengthen our hearts for the work he has called us to do.