Not three minutes after I posted my last blog, I went up to Sunday
night service here on the ship, and the subject of the evening was persevering
through tiredness, difficulties, the end of things, the final sprint. My facebook feed was filled with encouraging
words and virtual hugs; just exactly what my heart needed to keep moving
forward through the messy, bloody, painful last few miles of this marathon.
~~
When I got my grad school schedule for the year and planned
it all out, I was supposed to have started this current module in the beginning
of April and continued through until the beginning of July; my next one-week
off break not until July 3. I had
thought to plan a getaway that weekend over the summer, so when I got the
actual schedule just a few weeks ago I was really bummed to find out I won’t
get that break in July – but, I get a break starting 18 of May for a week and a
half. Now, I am desperate for and
extremely happy about the break coming in just a week’s time, where I can focus
all my energy on finishing this field service still sane, and not have the constant
worry of grad school weighing on my shoulders.
~~
This morning, when I was really struggling to find the
energy to get out of bed after yet another night of anxious restlessness, I got
an email from one of the highest level surgeons up in Tana, with some photos
showing their team using the Checklist.
He was a bit resistant to implementation as quickly as we were pushing
for; to hear, with no prompting, that his team is using it proudly and ensuring
safer surgical experiences for all their patients was just exactly the
encouragement I needed to get up and face another day.
~~
Throughout this last two days I’ve had packed in several
meetings, our annual thank-you reception on board the ship for our local and
governmental partners, quite a long to-do list and also needed time to do
school work, sleep, laundry, and pack again as I fly out tomorrow morning for
more follow-up trips. It was going to be
tight and I was dreading it. How would I
get it all done? And then, as it turns
out, I was able to finish so much more than anticipated; time seem expanded, my
team pulled through and got stuff done for me, meetings proceeded smoothly and
the thank-you reception even got finished early!
~~
He knows.
That is the beauty of trust in the creator of all things; of
this organization, of all the places I’m visiting and the people I get to meet
and work with and encourage and empower to greater things, of my own story and
the stress I am feeling and the anxiety that keeps me up at night.
He knows. And He hasn’t
brought me all this way, all the way here, to abandon me.
This I know for sure.
So I head out again tomorrow, on this giant impossible
mission that is happening right before my eyes; the mission to bring hope and
healing in places there is none, to shine light into the darkness, to pursue
hope and truth and life to the full.
May it be so – in them, and in me.
 |
| Flying over Madagascar, somewhere between Antananarivo and Maintirano last week. |
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