Talk about an encouraging day! Wow. Nothing life-changing (although isn’t encouragement life-changing?!), but two small profound things. The first was a meeting with a pastor, who encouraged Jeff and me more than words could ever convey. Nothing changed in our circumstances, but we left the meeting encouraged beyond measure. Such a small thing–a meeting over lunch. But it was an invaluable lifting of our souls.
Secondly, I received a phone call tonight, out of the blue, from a girl whom I have not seen in six years. She confessed she’d been “blog stalking” us for several years. We had served together at Real Life in Corvallis and in Brasil doing short-term missions. Her life then took a sharp, difficult turn and we never heard from her again…for six years. Until tonight. “Hello?” “Hi, is this Kari?” Her voice was soft and tentative. I was overwhelmed with joy to hear her name again, and sat for more than a 1/2 hour catching up on the past six years. Her story is full of sorrow, but has turned to be full of joy because of the faithfulness of God’s redeeming power. I am humbled and amazed at her faith, perseverence, and determination in trusting Christ.
Those two encounters, totally unexpected, inspired my heart to see with eyes of faith.
So tomorrow, as promised, I will be unplugged. We’ve planned a hiking trip all morning up the River Corridor, packing a picnic lunch and tackling a five mile loop up the ridge that overlooks the river. After a sedentary seminary semester we’ll see how we do. 🙂 My goal is to enjoy our son, talk to Jeff, pray, savor God’s Word, breathe deep the fresh air, and use my two-hour “free slot” of time during Dutch’s nap to work on the brainstorming for The Sacredness of the Mundane. If any of you have a story of how God has met you in the mundane details of life, or how you personally “practice the presence of God” I would love to hear from you. Click “Contact Kari” and shoot me an email…I’d love your inspiration.
Talking to this long-lost friend made me want to drop a note of thanks to those of you who read this. You bless me more than you know by simply taking the time to care about my thoughts and musings. Thank you for the ways that your comments and emails inspire, encourage, and strengthen my faith. Have a happy Thursday…I’m encouraged and unplugged.