Rising

They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.
They shall mount up with wings as eagles;
Isaiah 40:31a

Yesterday, I came back from Malaysia where my husband, Eng, was from. We were there to celebrate his mom’s birthday with her. She turned 82. It was good to reconnect with her again, along with the other relatives. It’s also an “eating town” so we did a LOT of that. My stomach is still quite big from all the consuming that happened. Mom’s delicious 9-course celebratory meal ended with a Durian Cheesecake. Mmm! It was definitely a blessing to have been there.

I wasn't able to take many days off work so I came back here before Eng. He’ll only come home tomorrow. Due to overbooking, I stayed with my niece in Kuala Lumpur to catch my 7 a.m. flight yesterday. I enjoyed getting to know her and her husband more. I was amazed at how the Lord blessed me with food I loved to eat even though I never told them what I liked! I also enjoyed talking about the Lord’s goodness with them. I just know that those stories made an impression in their hearts. I prayed for them, as I did for Eng's Mom, that they'll soon relate to God on their own. My prayer is also that they’ll see and feel God’s kindness and overwhelming love for them, themselves. Papa God’s love is simply too good to be true. =) For you, too!

Yes, those are watermelon balls beside a scrumptious chicken dish. They went so well together! Yum!

Having said all that, for my present online course, I need to hand in a 12-page paper. Since it’s a research paper, I looked for reference materials at school but found none. I’d since been looking at websites but progress has been very slow. Last Sunday morning, I could feel my tension grow as I realized that work could only begin again once I got here on Tuesday morning. How could I finish it? I was overwhelmed! I was glad to be there in Malaysia but I knew that I lost at least 3 days when I could have worked on the research. I took a morning walk and was surprised to find comfort at a Christian cemetery. There, engraved on a tombstone near where I sat to rest and be still, was the verse above. And then I remembered what I read about eagles and storms. During a storm, eagles fly to the highest spot and wait for the strong winds to come. Then, when it does, they spread their wings so the wind can pick them up and lift them above the storm. They end up soaring above the storm while it rages below them. I couldn't help but see the parallel in my life! I feel like I’m in a storm with my present circumstances but I’m to rise above it. I need to spread out my wings and let the wind lift me up. The wind is like the grace of God sustaining me and helping me with everything I have to do. I'm actually an eagle already rising even as I plod along daily to complete as much work as I can. It isn't easy and it is so tiring but eventually, I’ll get to that eye of the storm, the calmest spot, and soon rise all the way up. It's hard for an eagle to be in the storm but unless it meets the storm head on, it’ll never get to where there’s a break and a calm spot for it to rise up completely on. What a fascinating process! I am so glad for our God who continues to work in our lives and mold us and shape us and help us get to where we need to be. Amen.

By His grace, I will get that paper done and soon find myself out of the storm. Thank you, Lord. Praise you!