triumph

True to some law of nature, starting the week out without Matt proved to be challenging.  Sunday night a student returned from Port-au-Prince severely ill, and it was a long night.  Bright and early Monday morning, trying to get everybody (including myself) ready for school, and the truck will NOT start, no matter what we try.  Our nanny was crazy late, we can't get the computers in the computer lab logged in, I borrow Phil's truck to pick up the girls and accidentally scrape the monster while thanking the gate guy.

Sigh.  You know.

I've been abundantly blessed by how much our staff is rising to the occasion, and by the many practical helps of friends, from Julie taking the girls to school for me while I'm teaching to Granny keeping Nora happy in the cafeteria waiting for Gertha.

Everything is better when we're together.

BUT.

He had a great day yesterday preaching and leading an evening Bible study time, eating with lots of staff and students at Houghton College and enjoying the colder weather!

And rough drives us to the Lord, doesn't it...and that's NEVER a bad thing.  As I continued my study through 1 Corinthians yesterday, NOT in a calm, quiet, neat house, I was driven again and again to the knowledge that without great love, it is NOTHING.

And my dear friend Oswald didn't leave me hanging, either, speaking boldly of the Triumphant Christ we follow.

Paul said, in essence, “I am in the procession of a conqueror, and it doesn’t matter what the difficulties are, for I am always led in triumph.” Is this idea being worked out practically in us? Paul’s secret joy was that God took him as a blatant rebel against Jesus Christ, and made him a captive— and that became his purpose. It was Paul’s joy to be a captive of the Lord, and he had no other interest in heaven or on earth. It is a shameful thing for a Christian to talk about getting the victory. We should belong so completely to the Victor that it is always His victory, and “we are more than conquerors through Him…” (Romans 8:37).

Imagine a better word for a temporarily single mom (or for an ANYONE) today.  I am in procession, in possession, of THE conquerer.

Being captive to Christ today, with great love.

I don't have to do car mechanic.  I don't have to do clean house.  I don't have to do on top of all the accounting.  I don't have to be caught up in my grading

All I have to do, today, is be captive to Christ, (when the car won't start) with great love (when I am exhausted) and I am triumphant...because of He who never leaves, He who never sleeps.

So thankful for those simple times with God throughout the day and the joy of trials keeping us in continual prayer!

Beautiful help is on the way, too!  Sacrificial Aunt Sharon is coming today to spend the rest of Matt's time away with us, and we are all SO excited to have her friendship in the house.  The girls LOVE doing their school work with Aunt Sharon (who was also a girl growing up and going to school in Haiti, too), having more one-on-one attention, telling Aunt Sharon all about the billions of things they are stuck only telling me right now, and I LOVE having my dear friend here as an extra set of hands and heart and ears and as such a continual mentor and model for me of a woman, freed, and after God's own heart.

Never imagined we'd have the kind of strangers-turned-friends-turned-family who would drop all their own plans and family and comforts and finances and jobs to come and be family to us when we really needed it.  Very thankful!

this time last year when Matt was gone