Thursday, November 18, 2010

What Is That Whirring?

Quietness ... with just one day left on island, I am sitting in our two-bedroom apartment at the Hickam AFB Lodge and listening to the whirring of the air conditioner, a sound that will become very unfamiliar very soon! Bear is napping, the older three are enjoying one last visit with friends, and Patrick has some final paperwork to take care of on Schofield Barracks. So it's me and the whirring.

Over the past few weeks we have been drinking in all our favorite sites on O'ahu and fellowshipping with some of our favorite people. While it is difficult to say "Good-bye," it has been a blessing to celebrate the friendships that have grown over the last three years. God has truly provided for us in every way.

In just a few short hours, we will turn the page and begin the next chapter as we travel to Kansas City to spend the holidays with family and friends there before heading to Germany. The sense of feeling overwhelmed can be a constant companion during the packing-and-shipping-and-flying-and-"transitioning." So I am thankful for moments like this when the whirring is ONLY the sound of the air conditioner. Then I am reminded again to "Be still." God has given me this day to live ... not the next 28. And just as God has provided in the past, "He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young" (Isaiah 40:11).

Quietness ...