Living on the faith train makes you look like a crazy person to most people. It's saying, I know there's no tangible evidence of this right now, but I know that it's going to happen.
I'm living on the faith train in several areas of my life. The one currently on my heart is where I'll be living when I get back to the states. The plan is to move to California with my old youth pastors. Live with them, do life with them, be involved in the church that they're moving for. Where faith comes in, is that they've known for over 2 years that God will be taking them to California... And they're still waiting on God. I don't doubt that they will be there by the end of May when I need them to be, but for people looking into the situation, I look like a crazy person.
"What do you mean you're making plans around something that may or may not happen by the time you need it to?" See... That's the thing. I have my moments of worry, but then I remember that God has never left me high and dry. It may not look the way I'm imagining or happen the way I'm planning, but I don't doubt God's goodness and His love for me.
In May I'm going to California. I have tickets for a Bethel conference in LA and everything. Living on the faith train looks crazy, sure, but man does it feel good. I'm not worried :).
Shalom
Alana, I'm so grateful to you for continuing this blog. I love it, oh I just love it so much! You write so much about things that are so dear to my heart! I'm facing some of the same challenges as you, in my relationship with God, in what I want to do with my life, feeling alone with all that sometimes, and even living in a place where I don't know the language! I love your unfailing determination to try to walk in the path of God, and to face any and every hardship that might come with that. I'm awed by your courage, strength and endurance.
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to catch up on what I've missed in this blog. I've read all your posts since October 13, 2015, and a few others before that, and in almost every post, reading about what you're trying to do and hoping to do with your life, and the challenges you're facing, I'm going "Me too!" "Me too!"
ReplyDeleteI'm so, so happy to see the wonderful things that have been happening in your life!
It just occurred to me that I should have introduced myself when I first started commenting on your blog. I grew up in Indiana, Illinois and California, and met my wife in Florida. Together we've lived in Florida, Guadeloupe, Fort Wayne, New Jersey, Martinique, Virginia, and now Guilin, China. We have a son living in Shanghai, a daughter living in Quebec city, and five grandchildren.
ReplyDeleteMy wife is teaching English at a university here. Before I retired I worked mostly in computer programming, economic and social research, and landscaping. Since we've been in China I've been doing housework, helping my wife with her teaching, and doing some volunteer work with children.
My life is all about learning to walk in the path of God, and to help spread His love and knowledge. I'm a member of a non-Christian religious community, using non-Christian scriptures. I disagree with most of the theology and interpretations of the Bible that I see Christian churches promoting, and even with how they use the Bible, but I see God in Jesus, and I don't see my disagreements with Christians as disagreeing with the Bible itself.
One of my special interests is helping to develop and promote some kinds of God-centered community building that I see as good ways of helping to reduce and counteract the ravaging of military and economic warfare and other natural disasters, and helping to build a better world. Another is learning to be a better friend to people in my life, especially to some of the people around me that I see being stigmatized, marginalized and treated cruelly.