Back to normal - Take 2

Celebrations! The roof is finished, complete with three locked access gates. Yep, that means that I can sleep in on Saturday and Sunday mornings again, and my house helper could clean knowing that things would stay clean for a while, and I could finally get my sheets washed. Why couldn't I do that before? Because we usually dry laundry on the roof, where we have a number of ropes strung up to hang it on (no backyard with a Hills Hoist here). With the guys working on the roof this just wasn't an option. We possibly could have got it dry using the airers, but it would have been much more challenging! Never mind, they are done now!

The electricity is also still working the way it should be, and most furniture (including the refrigerator) has been returned to it's proper home. Praise God for that. Actually, thinking about it, the electricity problems made me appreciate how rarely we actually do lose our power here, compared to other areas of the city where they can be without power for hours at a time (like up to 8 hours). No fun!

Life at school is also smoother. Fortunately some of what I understood to have been said last Friday afternoon was actually a misunderstanding. Unfortunately I didn't find this out until Tuesday evening, so I had a pretty stressed weekend. There are still definitely things that I need to work on in my life at school, in the ways that I interact with my colleagues and my students but the issue that was causing me the most distress was a misunderstanding. Praise God for two special ladies who prayed with and for me, got me talking and listened, and helped me work through some of the issues, both real and imagined/misunderstood. As one of them said to me today, the evil one takes great delight in tearing down God's servants, especially in this country.

The events of last weekend reminded me, again, of the fact that I cannot do this job alone. Only in God's strength can I be the teacher He wants me to be, and that means I must walk with Him all the time. In the busyness of life it's easy to drift away from Him, and especially easy to skip spending daily time with Him. Fortunately, even when we drift away from Him, He doesn't let us go, and sooner or later He gently leads us back to Himself. He never forces us, but He does provide reminders of His love and people and things to guide us back to Him. Praise Him.

I've just been enjoying "The Lion King" and there are a few memorable lines that are really relevant to where I am now.

Rafiki says to the Adult Simba, "Change is good"
Adult Simba: Yeah, but it's not easy. I know what I have to do. But going back will mean facing my past. I've been running from it for so long.
[Rafiki hits Simba on the head with his stick]
Adult Simba: Ow! Jeez, what was that for?
Rafiki: It doesn't matter. It's in the past. [laughs]
Adult Simba: Yeah, but it still hurts.
Rafiki: Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or... learn from it.

Wow, how true are those words. I'm not saying I'm running from my past, but it does affect who I am today. Fortunately when we do face our past and learn from it, we don't have to do it alone. God is with us through it all, and wants to help us every step of the way. How many times in His word does He say to us "I will never leave you" or "I will be with you always"? I'm not sure, but I know there are many. Let's hold on to His love as we grow and change to be the people He wants us to be.

On that note, I'll say goodnight, and I hope that maybe someone reading this will be encouraged by it.

Karen