And so it begins

As I write this I feel a strange sense of something altogether different.  My life is changing and somehow I know that it will never be the same.  For years I have longed to arrive at this point – the time when I will finally finish my formal education and jump on that plane to a foreign land.  It sounds so adventurous doesn’t it? Now while there may indeed be an element of adventure, that’s not what drives me onward.  What could possibly impel someone to leave their family and head into a world of unknowns?  A land where no familiar face resides and home is far away. Sometimes I can’t figure it out myself, but deep down inside I have always known.  It’s Jesus.  He has always been behind my every step, driving me forward. In moments like these I wonder if I’ve understood it all correctly, but I know that this is right.  Something far beyond me gives me the strength and moves me on.

This week a Moody student drowned.  His sister was staying at the same home as me when she heard the news.  Even though I don’t really know her or her brother, the pain surrounding this campus and my current home is palpable.  Our hearts are broken as we struggle to keep our hope fixed on Christ.  Meanwhile, my family still waits in Ukraine, hoping to hear the news that Vitalik can be taken home, trusting God as they face setback after setback.  And I am here in Chicago about to board a plane. Please pray that I might trust my Savior.

I know not what is yet to come

What joy, what pain, what hope,

But this I know will all my heart –  

I rest in Him alone.