Coming into this season, I imagined a “coming down” out of the heights of living and teaching in China. Going into China, I imagined a coming down out of Memphis and all I’d seen, learned, and been a part of at Rhodes, SOS, and Jacob’s Well. Going into senior year, I imagined I would be coming down out of my time in Nepal… But each time I’ve made a transition, it seems I’ve climbed a little higher. The road keeps getting narrower and more difficult to traverse; the fall to the bottom is noticeably farther than it once was (thank God); and the higher we go, the more I have to look to God for fellowship, because He’s the only one who has been with me on all of the other mountains.
I came back to Colorado with no idea what I would be doing
here, knowing that I don’t yet have real community in this place. I came back
painfully aware of what I left behind in Memphis, including the opportunity to
pursue the dream He has placed on my heart to become a counselor. But…The Lord
has been faithful to fulfill His promise to make a way in the wilderness.
Immediately upon my return to Colorado (I had literally just
driven across the Kansas border), I got a call about a temporary job at an
office in Denver with people I love. Thanks,
God, for the job.Later that week I got a call from a professor at the graduate school I had just walked away from, offering to enroll me in two “hybrid distance learning” courses that were just approved by the accreditation board, in addition to an online course I was already registered for, thus making me a full-time counseling student. Thanks, God, for making that possible.
The first Sunday I was back, Pastor Rick beckoned me over,
then invited me to consider joining Iasis leadership. Thanks, God, for the promise of community and intentional ministry at
my church.
The following Wednesday, my niece Clementine was born. THANKS, GOD, FOR MY GROWING FAMILY!
Thursday, I committed to be on board with leadership.
Saturday I applied (maybe too late?) for a few open para-teacher jobs in Poudre
School District. Sunday I began to see how I might fit in my church family,
engaging fully and with purpose. Monday I started classes. I worked in Denver again Tuesday and Wednesday. Today, I had class and homework. Tomorrow (Friday) I’m
getting trained in First Aid and CPR, and then leaving for the leadership
retreat…
Rick put it well when he told me that it’s time for me to
hit the ground running. He meant at Iasis.
God meant in life.
As things started picking up momentum, I found myself
beginning to fear that I would lose my footing.
Reading through a book (that I highly recommend) called Church@Community by Ed Delph, I decided
to read through Nehemiah, since that was a primary Biblical example of
community building as he talks about it in his book. For some reason this
spawned a visit to a baby names website where I investigated the meanings of
many, many Hebrew names. I’ve done a lot of weird things… I really don’t
understand what I was doing, but something came out of it.
The Lord gave me a name for the journey:
Jael. (Not for the
incident with the tent peg.) For its meaning: mountain goat. Most of the names I saw mean things like “Strength
from God.” “Belonging to God.” “Salvation of God.” And then there was Jael.
Mountain goat. That’s different. Also very, very meaningful to me. If you know
me, you probably already knew that. Whenever I face the icebreaker question:
What animal would you be if you could be any animal? I never hesitate. MOUNTAIN
GOAT!! People always think it’s weird. It must be a mountain state thing.
I have always been mesmerized by mountain goats. They live
and thrive on terrain that is impassible to most humans and other animals. They
don’t look down. They don’t get scared. They just… are. They live in some of
the most beautiful and dangerous places in the world, climbing to the highest
heights simply because they were made to. And they do it so gracefully.
I’m glad I have a name for the journey, to remind me of who He has made me to be. And I’m glad I have Someone to make the way.
