Tonight's drive from Hamilton to Missoula landed itself on the "most perfect nights" list-- one that has been growing rapidly lately.
The moon, a small crescent, hung in the air. It looked as if someone had delicately hung it up there not long before. Any gust of wind could have quickly dismissed it from the sky. The silhouette of the mountains rolled along, at times exposing the moon's radiance, at other times masking it, but leaving a gentle, yet noticeable, glow. The peace was unable to be ignored, rest from my busy mind was unavoidable.
Suddenly, one of my favorite songs I have ever heard came on in the car. "He Loves Us" by John Mark McMillan... I have never listened to this song and not been left with chill bumps and an overflow of gratitude and humility. I sat there, holding hands with one of God's most beautiful creations, looking at the mountains... just thankful. The phrase "the Lord is so good" has rung through my head all day. God's not just good.... He's like mega-uber-super-good... like, scary good. I love the verse "Taste and see that the Lord is good." As an avid, dedicated food enthusiast, these words really hit the spot. (No pun intended.) For example, Jonny and I hiked Mt. Sentinel Friday afternoon. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that it is over a 3,000 vertical foot hike, but I might be. Anyway, I hadn't eaten for a while before our hike. When we were done at 7:30pm, i was ready to devour a value meal at McDonalds, a size I'm usually incapable of eating... but was able to that day. It's kinda like that. Or hot pizza on a movie night in with the girls. Or a cold treat in the dead heat of summer. "Taste and see that the Lord is Big Dipper ice cream in the sweltering hot summer." Yeah, it's just like that. Your mouth waters and you can't think of anything else in the world... ahhh...
As I prepare to leave for Haiti on Wednesday, I am left numb. I am excited to go into this trip knowing so little, but expecting so much. It's not a reality yet. I have prayed that the Lord would send me into extreme poverty and pain since... well... forever. And now I'm GOING! I invite you to be in prayer with our team as we face an uncertain schedule and people with bruised and broken hearts. Pray the Lord will break ours first from our trivial stresses so that we have room in our hearts to take on the pains of our brothers and sisters and lead them to our gracious, peaceful, GOOD Lord!
Until June 4th... adios mis amigos americanos!
