When you least expect it....

When you least expect it….

I used to hate that phrase, and I mean really hate it!!  As in, cringe and want to punch someone when they said it, hate it!!  I mean, really in all reality, when are you not expecting or hoping for something!  As a single woman I most commonly heard that phrase in reference to meeting a guy, or “the one”.  I found it hard to believe that there would come a time in my life that I wouldn’t be expecting it at least a little.  But to my surprise, over the past year or so after several months of really struggling and doing a lot of praying and “soul searching” I came to a place in my life that I was really at peace with the idea of being single, and I was content if that was what God had planned for my life.  I have a good job, great friends and family, an adorable nephew and another niece or nephew on the way, and people that I love and care about all over the world!!  I have had the opportunity to do amazing things like go to Africa and volunteer with Children’s Heart Project that I probably would not have been able to do had I been married or had a family.  I had finally found my “happy place” being single.  And then the unexpected happened…during my recent trip to Uganda and Kenya, God placed Daniel in my life, and things have not been the same since that day!!  The last thing I wanted or expected from this trip was to meet a guy!!  Especially after a bad experience a couple years ago!  There I was, in Kenya for the first time, just trying to take it all in and get to know the children at the ministry we were visiting, and in the middle of it all God was up to something!!  Prior to ever arriving in Kenya, our trip leaders told us how wonderful our driver, Daniel, in Kenya was!  I admittedly took that with a grain of salt because how could anyone be any better than our awesome drivers in Uganda?  I was completely surprised when I met Daniel and connected with him in a way I definitely was not expecting!!  I can only describe our connection and the way things have played out since then as truly God ordained!!  I never would have expected or dreamed to meet someone like Daniel, but God had other plans!  I have met this man that is one of the most kind-hearted, honest, compassionate, God-fearing men I have ever met!!  I’ve met a man who tells me I’m more beautiful when I don’t wear makeup than when I do, who tells me how much he cares about me daily, and who makes me feel more loved than I ever have by a man.  Daniel has come so far in his life, and has such big dreams, I know God has amazing things in store for him!!  Meeting Daniel has been both completely unexpected, and completely natural and welcomed all at the same time!!  Getting to know him more and more over the past couple months has been wonderful!  Thanks to technology and the internet, we are able to talk on the phone every day!!  We talk about silly things, serious things, and everything in between and we love every minute of it!!  I have laughed, and smiled more in the past couple months than I have in a very long time!!  There are times when I feel like nothing could wipe the giant smile off my face!!  I have no idea what God has in store for Daniel and I’s future, but I know that it will be pretty amazing!!  I am falling for a man that lives half-way around the world, and I have no idea what that looks like for our future, but I am so ready for this adventure with him!!  I could not be more grateful to God for bringing this amazing man into my life!!  I’m so grateful for the way He has brought us together, and written this beautiful story that I get to be part of!!  So…I guess it is like everyone says…you never know what might happen when you least expect it!!!  

Lessons learned in Uganda...

I've been meaning to write an update ever since I got back from Uganda, but between not having internet until a few weeks ago, and just life in general being busy, I am just now getting to it. There has been so much going on since my trip including getting ready for another international trip...but I'll get to that in another post. Truthfully part of my delay in writing has just been that I haven't really known exactly how to put everything into words. As expected everyone has been asking how my trip was when I got back from Uganda. I always smile and say it was great, which is the truth, but what haven't said is that it was also very difficult for me in a lot of ways. It was difficult because I don't think my heart was really fully ready for the disappointments and emotions I experienced while I was there. First, the whole situation and heartbreak with the guy I wrote about previously was still very fresh. For months I had thought about and looked forward to walking out of that airport in Entebbe and seeing him and his big smile standing there waiting for me! I had played that scene over and over in my head in anticipation. I had been so excited to see him standing there welcoming me when I arrived that night, but instead I walked out and was welcomed by complete strangers standing there holding a piece of paper with my name scribbled on it. It was almost like experiencing that initial heartbreak all over again. I don't think I was prepared for that at all...no, I know I wasn't prepared for that. I made it to the guest house that night tired, emotional, and just ready for a fresh new day. Thankfully, waking up the next morning to the familiar Ugandan sounds of roosters crowing, cicadas chirping, and all those other familiar sounds reminded me of my love for that country and not just a man that represented that place to me. God reaffirmed in my heart that it really is the country and people I truly love, and that my love for that place goes much deeper than any love I thought I had for a man who lives there. 

The other very difficult part of this trip was seeing my sweet Bobby. I was so excited to see him again, but I knew after my last trip that he may need a little time to warm up to me. I was not prepared for the reality of his reaction though. As soon as I even tried to simply wave at him from a distance and say hi he would begin crying and screaming, drop to the ground, and back as far away from me as he could possibly get. My heart sank! This boy I love so dearly wants nothing to do with me, and is terrified of me! I hoped maybe as the day or days moved on he might as least allow me to get close enough to hug him or even just talk to him and tell him how much I love him. In reality, my hopes were dashed and things didn't improve at all. In fact it actually got worse at times. Just a look and a smile at him from across the room would send him into a full blown tantrum! My heart broke seeing this boy that I love completely reject me and be so afraid of me. And every time he broke down my heart broke a little more. I was completely crushed! All the other babies and children at his baby home loved me, and even fought over sitting with me at times. I was happy to love on the other kiddos, but deep down I longed just to hold Bobby for even just one moment. Unfortunately, that never happened. The closest I was ever able to get to him was a few feet away for a picture. I wasn't even able to get a single picture of just him and I together. The closest I came to having a moment with him was when his caregiver gave him the few little books and toys I had brought for him. He did at least seem to enjoy those and carried them around proudly for several minutes. I was still heartbroken that this boy I love wouldn't allow me to hug him or tell him how much I love him. I still don't totally understand why God allowed me the opportunity to go all that way to see him only to be completely rejected and heartbroken. Contrast that with my time with my sponsor daughter, Norah who came right to me. I was elated to finally meet her and hold her in my arms! We had two great days bonding and getting to know each other! I am so grateful I had such a nice time with Norah, because I don't know how I would have handled it if she hadn't come to me so easily. I still struggle at times with the heartbreak God allowed me to experience while I was there with Bobby, but He has been using that heartbreak (and the joy I felt with Norah) to teach me more about Him (as he so brilliantly does). God has taught me and shown me through this experience with Bobby that everything I experienced with him is often how we are with God. I have realized that the heartbreak I was feeling must be just a glimpse of how God feels every time I reject Him or His Ways, just as the joy I felt with Norah is like the joy God feels when we come to Him in complete surrender. God's heart breaks for us just as my heart broke for Bobby! Every time one of God's children rejects Him He feels that same pain I felt, and probably ten-fold. He sacrificed His Only Son for us, and when we reject Him He must experience that pain of losing His Son all over again, in addition to losing one of His children. You can sense God's anguish for His people's rejection here: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me." Luke 13:34. Our rejection of Him doesn't have to be complete rejection of His offer of Salvation. It can be something as simple as choosing to hold on to a worry or problem ourselves, rather than turn it over to Him and let Him bear those burdens for us. So, even though my time with Bobby wasn't anything like how I had hoped it would be, I have learned a valuable lesson about God's deep love for me. How much more His love is for me than the love I have for Bobby (or Norah), and how much more His heart must break when I reject Him or His ways! I am so thankful for His great love for me!! "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" 

1 John 3:1a

He Knows....

Music has always been something that I really connect with and can really pierce into my heart and soul.  I really believe God can speak to us through music, at least I know He does for me.  Hearing the right song at the right time can lift my spirits, or confirm or deny something I've been praying for.  A song can remind me of so many of God's attributes.  And music is one way I really connect with God in worship.  I heard a song a couple weeks ago just a day or two after my heartbreaking situation I last wrote about that brought me to tears when I heard it.  It was almost as if God played that song right then just for me!  It was the song "He Knows" by Jeremy Camp.  Here it is...go ahead and listen...I'll wait...

Good stuff...huh!?  That song reminded me in those dark moments that God knew and knows at all times everything that I'm going through.  Nothing is a surprise to Him!!  In those days immediately following my heartbreak that song brought me much comfort and hope!!  Now when I hear the song it not only brings comfort and hope, but also such joy that I can rest easy no matter what my situation is because God knows and is in control!!  Jesus walked through the suffering and hurt that we go through; He knows what it is to lose a friend, He knows what it feels like to feel sorrow and joy!!  The line "You barely have the strength to pray" is one that really hit me.  How often have you just felt so broken and weary that you didn't even have the strength or will to pray?  That's ok because He already knows our needs before we even do!  Then that last part...it really got me!!  "Every time that you feel forsaken, Every time that you feel alone, He is near to the broken-hearted, Every tear, He knows..." Every tear!!  He knows every single tear we cry, and He wants to be the One to wipe away those tears with his loving embrace!! This song is just a simple reminder of God's all knowing, comforting heart for us!  I hope that maybe by sharing this song it can be an encouragement for someone else as it has been for me these past few weeks!  Just remember...He Knows!!!

Uganda bound...(When God makes lemonade out of a very lemony situation!)

It's hard to know where to even begin. I'm going to have to be pretty vulnerable and as we all know that can be quite scary...so bear with me if this seems as though I'm rambling or something. I have been dying to go back to Uganda since I returned from my last trip. My heart is there in so many ways, but over the last year or so it began to grow there in a way I hadn't really anticipated. I have made a lot of friends over there during my trips, but one of those friendships was just different from the very beginning. Without going into many details, this friendship developed into more and I began to develop feelings I haven't really felt before. (In case you haven't figured it out by now...yes...it was a man.) We talked nearly everyday, we shared our hopes and dreams, and we shared a vision of what the future could look like. I prayed about this relationship and friendship, and I began to feel like I needed to take the next step and return to Uganda in order to really see where this really might go. He begged me to come visit too, so when I was finally able to schedule some time off next month I bought a plane ticket. I was so excited for what this trip could bring, not only was I finally going to be back on that Ugandan soil, but I would be there with someone who had become one of my best friends and someone I could envision a future with! We began making plans and talking about how excited we were to be able to spend some quality time together. I was so excited! I didn't really share about the trip because we didn't want it to be a big deal. So I kept my excitement mostly to myself and my family and a few close friends. Then the bomb dropped...long story-short I found out very abruptly that this man I had given my heart to was not at all who I thought he was, and that much (if not all) of what he was telling me about his feelings for me were a lie!! He betrayed me and hurt me in a way that is almost inexplicable! I was crushed!! My heart shattered into a million tiny piece!! I was hurt, angry, heartbroken, and honestly a little dumbfounded! And then the realization that I had this plane ticket set in. What was I going to do now?? It was less than 4 weeks before I was supposed to leave and the plane ticket was nonrefundable!! I had no idea if I could even make new arrangements and accommodations this short notice. I felt completely at a loss and that I would probably have to just eat the cost of the ticket. Thankfully, though, I have some great friends who encouraged me not to give up. I began to pray that God would open new doors if I was still supposed to go on this trip, and I tried to just trust in His plans. So, I reached out to a few people to see if they had any ideas or tips on what to do. One of these friends came to my rescue in a huge way!! She has a ministry and offered to get a trip together for me!! I get to go visit and work at the children's homes my babies Bobby and Norah are at!! It was most definitely a huge answer to prayer and obviously a God thing!! I was and still am SO incredibly grateful!! God took this situation that was completely heartbreaking and seemed so hopeless, and turned it into an opportunity for me to love on my sweet sponsor babies and visit with some dear friends! I am so grateful for God's provision and faithfulness through all of this. His plans really are better than ours, and I'm excited to see how He uses this trip to continue to teach me that!! The trip will be here before I know it, and I am so looking forward to being back in that beautiful country that has completely stolen my heart!!

The struggle of this season...

Ever since my first trip to Uganda this Christmas and Advent season stirs up so many mixed emotions inside me. I LOVE this time of year and spending time with my family, but the last few years I have had a bit of an ache in my heart as well. When your heart is in two places I suppose there will always be that ache because no matter where you are, there is a part of you that longs to be in the other place. I see friends and family with their children, doing all those fun Christmas activities and my heart breaks a little wishing I could be having those same experiences with my Bobby and Norah. It's like my heart is divided in two and will never completely be whole again, at least not this side of Heaven. I think this quote from a blog I read says it so well:

"I want to tell you that it’s going to be ok, that if you give yourself enough time, your heart will feel whole again. But I can’t, and it won’t – at least not on this side of eternity, I think. When home is on both sides of the world, when you let yourself love people who are separated by a lot of miles and a lot of water, your heart can’t stay in one piece.

But, you know what? I think maybe that’s not completely a bad thing.

My mom used to tell me that love is like a candle flame. When you divide it, when you use the flame to light another wick, it doesn’t take anything away. It gets twice as bright.
Our hearts are flames dividing."

My heart will always long to be both here with my family in the US and in Uganda with my Ugandan family. I begin to feel broken at times missing my Ugandan family wishing I could be there. But then I think about my family here and realize it's not fair to them if I am constantly wishing I were in Uganda. And so that is when my heart breaks from the constant struggle to be in two places at once. I've been learning however, that God uses that brokenness to remind me of His love and Faithfulness. He weaps when I weap, and He wants to be the One to wipe those tears and make my heart whole again with His love. He knows my heart and He knows the perfect plan he has for my life. So while my heart longs to be in two places, I know God always has me just where He wants me for that specific time. I trust that there will be a time when I can spend this time of year with my family on the other side of the world, and until then I will do everything I can to be present right here where God has me right now.