Wasn't feeling very well when I went to bed last night and even when I woke up early this morning, I wasn't feeling great. If I could've found a way to get Hannah on another day, I probably would've canceled. My friend Katie picked me up at 6:30, then we picked up our friend, "Faith" on the way out of town. About 30 minutes outside of Duhok, we hit a huge pothole, which was followed by a loud pop. Katie pulled over. Sure enough, we had a flat tire. She called her teammate, who put the spare on and traded vehicles with us so we could continue on our way to Erbil. When we arrived at the place of our visit, we discovered that our friend was no longer there. He was moved to Duhok, which means we probably passed him on the road! (This made the events of the morning a little more understandable as all three of us had hesitations about leaving this morning.) Of course this is great news as it means our friend is closer to his family now. We were able to visit with one of his close friends and encourage him before leaving.
Stamps from our visit:
Katie, Faith, and I ate lunch at Abu Shahab Food Court, then picked up my new roommate, Hannah. We stopped for coffee on the way out of town, then enjoyed a beautiful ride home.
Andy and Lisa met us on the outskirts of town, and we went to dinner at Abu Faris as a team. By the time we got home, jet lag was hitting Hannah. I was ready for an early bed too after getting up at 5am and not feeling so well all day.
Tuesday, March 19th:
Woke up spontaneously at 3am this morning and was able to spend some good time in reflection and prayer. I've been thinking about a lot of things over the past two weeks ... this morning was a culmination of everything I've been learning.
When I find myself in a difficult situation, my tendency is to DO something about it. God has been showing me that I need to focus on how to BE in those situations. In my relationships with others, in the circumstances I find myself, I need to be patient, humble, holy, submissive ... the list goes on. Once I am, then I can do. This morning God revealed that my motive for doing must be delight in Him. Not only is delighting in God a result of what we do, it must be the motive as well. The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. I've heard it said that we most glorify God when we find our satisfaction in Him. God helped me see this morning that doing things because they bring satisfaction in God is a motive that glorifies Him. There is a danger in altering the motive - "do those things that bring delight to me," but when I make sure that I am being and doing things that bring delight in the Lord, my attitude and actions will align with His Word. "If thou call the sabbath a delight ... and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words, then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord."
Pondering these things was a great comfort as I've been examining my motives for being and doing. I find them tainted with selfishness, pride, fear, etc. And every time I've tried to move forward, I've been hindered by the question, "how can I make decisions that glorify God when I am led by good, but fleshly desires to meet others' needs, meet their expectations, and protect them from pain?" This morning's meditation helped me see that I can move forward, "rejoic[ing] in Christ Jesus and put[ting] no confidence in the flesh." For, whatsoever I do, I will do it heartily as unto the Lord (delighting in the Lord) and not unto men. I can still do things that will (as a result) please others, but I must do them because they bring delight in the Lord.
While Hannah was still resting, I went to the corner store and grabbed some groceries, then went to the market to enjoy the sunshine. It is always better to go to the market "early" (around 9am or 10am) because it is far less crowded. By the time I left (11:30am) it was starting to get busy. At home, Hannah and I spent some time talking, then I went up on the roof to read. When I came back down, I took a nap, then worked on a couple projects. Hannah and I went out to find her an extension cord, then later in the evening, we visited in the kitchen while she made English muffins. Hannah is a "feeder," so I will have to keep up on my cardio workouts if I'm going to stay fit over the next 10 weeks! :)
