Wednesday night was absolutely wild. We were scheduled to leave for Florida the next day and Mason somehow ended up on a night flight at work. A few minutes before he left the house, Eden locked the bathroom door, walked out and pulled it shut behind her, necessitating Mason removing the doorknob so we could have access (it wasn't an easy lock to pick; we tried). Later that night, as I struggled to get the children fed and ready for bed so I could get to packing, Eden shut the door behind her again, this time locking herself and the rest of us out with no doorknob. Isaiah was ready for bath, and I was ready to scream! After beating on the door and jiggling the slippery knobless post in frustration for long enough, the door opened. A few minutes after I got Isaiah in the bath, the power went out. It was dusk so I had enough light to find our two candles (not quite ready for storm season I guess) and two flashlights and put Isaiah to bed before the sun went down. After a bedtime neighborhood block party in the dark, where Ezekiel and Eden got to see their friends one more time before our trip, I put them to bed with the extra candles our neighbor gave us functioning as their night lights and took a moment to assess how I was going to clean the very messy kitchen and pack by candlelight. It was around this time that I jotted down a few notes on my powerless iPad, which of course didn't save because there was no internet. My line of thinking at that intense hour was this: where does my power lie? Is it found in the transformers and generators that provide me the comforts of electricity, hot water and internet, or is it found in the only One who is able to transform lives and generate true change? As I realized that this wasn't truly a power outage but an electricity outage, I became grateful for the chance to focus completely on the task of packing and organizing without the distractions of internet or light to point out all the small things that could have been cleaned. Christ crucified and risen, forgiving and redeeming our sins, is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). I had plenty of power available to me that night, and a sweet time of prayer and peace followed.
Mason arrived home from work very early Thursday morning, around 2 am, by which time the electricity had returned and we were all sleeping peacefully. We made our flight on time and, though it was a draining and long day of flying, we made it safely to our destination. Then it was really go time. I had a hard time thinking about the 12-day separation from our three little ones here, and added in to the equation was some uncertainty about the visa issuing process due to a computer system glitch that has affected the entire world. We prayed about what to do, and the Lord confirmed that we should keep our plans despite an offer from the agency to postpone our trip. Walking out the door this morning with my babes still resting was hard, but not as hard as it could have been had they been awake! We are trusting God for complete protection and comfort for them, as well as for all their caretakers as they tackle the always exciting task of shepherding three grandbabies ages five and under!
As we sit here at the gate, I'm reminded of the parable of the lost sheep that Jesus told in Luke 15:
"If you had one hundred sheep, and one of them strayed away and was lost in the wilderness, wouldn't you leave the ninety nine others to go and search for the lost one until you found it? And then you would joyfully carry it home on your shoulders. When you arrived, you would call together your friends and neighbors to rejoice with you because your lost sheep was found. In the same way, heaven will be happier over one lost sinner who returns to God than over ninety nine others who are righteous and haven't strayed away!"
We are leaving the three (not ninety nine!) loved, attached, cared-for children to go and find the one that God has told us to rescue, as He has rescued us. If ever there was a valid reason for us to leave these three precious little sheep, and they are in very capable and loving hands, it's now.
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