There are some days when you just need to be strengthened. Yesterday was a day like that. Lauren and Jenn and I went to Skippack (our Church's other campus) for church. The plan was to get together with our friend who goes there and have lunch and pray for the Malawi team afterwards....Everything was "off" for me. I get up at five a.m. every day. I leave for church at 8:30 and church starts at 9 a.m. Yesterday we left at 10 a.m. drove a half an hour got there at 10:30...and church started at 11...I had an asthma attack from something in the building...I had to take Tylenol for my neck and shoulder...then by the time we had lunch and prayed and drove home, it was after 4p.m....

I didn't understand what was happening...why I felt this way...I love my new friend...I love Lauren and Jenn...I love church... we all had great conversation, bonding and prayer..."I" was just "off"...


 I guess I need to get ready for change, as the Malawi trip is going to be two solid weeks of "everything being off"...I feel like God gave me a little taste of  these unavoidable feelings so that I could prepare.

When we were waiting after church to go to our friend's house Lauren and I had a misunderstanding because it was so loud in the lobby that I hadn't heard something that she said (now, we are mother and daughter, so this stuff happens occasionally). Jenn was able to point out what that misunderstanding was in the car so we were able to get past it. Jenn stepping in was key...God showed me how we will all need to encourage and intercede for each other in Malawi.

After all, Lauren and Jenn are my family...I know them and love them deeply...so what is it going to be like with 27 near strangers? If we could have misunderstanding what could happen with our team? If I could feel so "off" because my day was a little different...how would I feel in Malawi where practically everything was different?

I am thankful for God pointing these things out to me. I will be praying against these things now, remembering how unexpected some emotions and reactions are going to be....many different personalities under the stress of travel and sleeplessness and hunger and whatever else people are going to be dealing with, could set the stage for all kinds of struggles.

The good news is that God Himself promises to strengthen us!

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my right hand." - Isaiah 41:10


And God always keeps His promises!

So I am grateful for a lesson learned in time to carry it to the Father in prayer...not just for me, but for the entire team. We will not be in our comfort zones...we may not feel well...our schedules will be disrupted, our internal clocks will be off from the time change...we will most likely be a mess...but we will have to find a way to get through.

God promises to strengthen us when we are dismayed. I am tucking this little gem of a scripture away in my suitcase for the moments when I will need it...Thank you Lord.

It's funny, I prayed before we went into church, for God to show each of us something that we needed to see in our lives...that the experience of going to church somewhere else would provide something that we wouldn't have gotten at our home church, from our regular routine...God answered the prayer differently than I had expected...I of course wanted a nice warm and fuzzy Ah-Hah moment...what I got was an uncomfortable and emotional wake up call...But still it was directly answered prayer...and of much more value than something "comfortable".

For Jenn and Lauren, the lesson came from the amazing sermon...God had something a bit more personal in mind for me....you never know how He will answer your prayers.