Every little thing, will be alright
Two weeks ago I had unexpected time to read and opened my Bible to Ecclesiastes 11.
“Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return. Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.”
Hm, seems pretty relevant with the volatility of stocks these days. Even more, the rapid change in the US government has Michael and I sitting on pins and needles. Many of you know that Michael has been working in humanitarian aid for the last ten years. We met in North Iraq while working with displaced people and continued to work in aid while in Jordan. The recent cuts to international aid trickle down to our family (maybe) – we are promised word of “wise stewardship” end of next month. For now, he still has his job and we continue life in limbo.
What does it mean to invest in seven ventures, yes eight? Especially as I enter 37 years young. “I think it’s time to do more with what we have.” That’s what I told Michael after reading Ecclesiastes that day.
So we’ve been pondering and I absolutely love the momentum. I can feel us entering a new stage, one that we can’t label, nor can we comprehend, but it is exciting and fun to dream of what some risk taking could look like today.
I have nothing concrete to write about. And perhaps that’s why I haven’t written much in a while. The last few months have looked like inviting friends and family into our home, visiting the rainforest, and navigating a new school for the girls. My days weave in and out between old routines and new. Michael returns from a nine-day trip in Thailand tomorrow, and to celebrate we will make chocolate chip cookies and play hard outside.
It seems to be a common thread in our marriage, that we are in the “in-between” – of knowing and not knowing. It doesn’t last for too long, something always happens as we choose the next steps with sure feet that everything will be alright.
When Phoebe was first learning how to stand, I used to repeat with a fun sing, songy voice “With confidence, we stand! With confidence, we stand!” I think that joy is best experienced when we trust the process, in exactly where our feet stand. There are no worries about tomorrow, just the knowledge of where we stand today.
Today we are living on a mango farm. The flowers are beginning to bud, and soon the mangoes will bloom. Phoebe has a scratch on her nose and is embarrassed that she doesn’t know how to tell her friends in Spanish what happened when they ask “Que Paso?” Emma chose not to wear socks to school today, while all the other kids wore “crazy socks” to commemorate Downs Syndrome Day. I don’t think she’ll ever go with the flow. And Gabie, she’s the cutest little stinker. She’ll run from you when you call her name, because most likely she’s grabbed something she shouldn’t have and gets a thrill from being chased. That’s my today. I hope that wherever you are, you are enjoying the smallest moments while rejecting the biggest distractions that snatch all that joy away.