Tapestry
I had a "full circle" moment recently that left me in awe of the Lord! Have you ever heard the analogy that our life is like a tapestry...that all we see is the knots and threads on the underside, but God sees how all these pieces fit together to make a beautiful picture? Well, I felt like I had a momentary glimpse of God's handiwork in my life.
CCF
Our daughter Brooke has been dancing with a dance ministry at Community Christian Fellowship, a church right next door to the Mercy Ships' offices, where Wade and I work. On Easter Sunday, her group danced for both services at "CCF" so our family spent the morning there with my mom and stepdad, who are members of CCF.
Dove award winning, singer-songwriter and worship leader, Paul Baloche leads the worship at CCF, and it is always amazing, to say the least. He has written several worship songs that many of us sing in our own churches..."Open the Eyes of my Heart" and "Hosanna" just to name a few.
Well, at the Easter service, one of the songs that Paul led us in for worship was called "Victor" and was made popular by the late contemporary Christian musician, Keith Green. As a teenager, I used to listen to his albums over and over, and this song brought back so many great memories of my early walk with the Lord.
Keith Green
I was an avid fan of Keith Green and his music and I was devastated when he died at 28 years old in a very unexpected accident...a plane crash...with 2 of his children. This happened in July of 1982, the summer after I graduated from high school. Later that year, while I was in my first year of nursing school, I learned about the Keith Green "Memorial" Concerts that were going to be travelling around the country. I was thrilled to learn that one would be coming to a Michigan city near me. These concerts were going to be showing a big-screen video of Keith's recent performance at "Jesus West Coast" that had occurred just 6 weeks before he died.
"Call "to Missions
At this concert, Keith shared a vision that he felt he had received from the Lord. It was a vision of "waves of young people going into the mission field." He felt that the Lord was asking him to challenge my generation to consider giving our lives to cross-cultural missionary service. My heart was touched by the Lord that night, and I say "Yes" to the call. I told the Lord that if He wanted me to go to the mission field, I would go. I just needed Him to show me when and where?
Mercy Ships
After the concert, there were numerous displays from various mission organizations, particularly those that were open to young people. One of the displays was giving information about this hospital ship, and a ministry called "Mercy Ships." Something in my heart lept that day, and I said, "One day I'm going to serve on that ship!" That was 29 years ago! And as the say, the rest is history!
City of Faith
But actually, there is more....in my pursuit of serving the Lord as a nurse in missions, I attended the College Missions Conference "Urbana" several months before graduating from nursing school. I had received counsel from a couple missionary nurses that I had spoken to that I should seek to get some experience in nursing before heading out to the mission field. I was hoping to find a place where I could pursue ministry and get practical nursing experience at the same time. I "just happened" to stand behind a man from Tulsa Oklahoma in the lunch line one day who was recruiting new graduate nurses for a Christian hospital called, "City of Faith." The hospital's vision was very similar to Mercy Ships' vision to provide medical care to those who might not be able to afford it. This seemed like the perfect match, and within a few months, I was headed to Tulsa.
Teen Mania
While living in Tulsa, I was listening to the local Christian radio station one day, and I heard about this new ministry forming, called "Teen Mania." Recent Oral Roberts University graduates, Ron and Katie Luce, were advertising on the radio, looking for those who had a heart to reach the teenagers of our generation, and I was prompted to respond. I spent several months participating in weekend retreats with Teen Mania, travelling to surrounding towns and sharing the love of Jesus with young people, before I felt the Lord leading me to relocate to Madison, Wisconsin.
City Church
My mom had moved there just a few years earlier, and I had considered pursuing further education at the University of Wisconsin. That was my plan, but in retrospect, I believe that the Lord's plan was for me to connect with a wonderful church, City Church (formerly called MGT), that "sent" me into the mission field in 1988 to serve with Mercy Ships, and has faithfully supported me (and my family) ever since.
Tying it all Together
So...fast forward almost 30 years. I am a missionary, living in Van, Texas working with Mercy Ships, just a few miles from Keith Green's "Last Days Ministries" property where his plane crash took place. That property is now owned and operated by Teen Mania ministries, run by Ron and Katie Luce. Many of the Teen Mania staff and interns attend CCF, where our daughter dances, and with whom she is going on her
first mission trip to Panama this summer.
As I sang that Victor song on Easter Sunday, I felt as though I was getting a quick glimpse of the "top side" of the tapestry that was my life. I could not have put all those pieces together if I had tried!
I was once again reminded that our creative Father has an amazing plan for each of our lives, and all He asks of us is to take the next step! We don't have to figure out how it all fits together, He is fully able to do that!
Jeremiah 29:11-12 says,
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord
, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
As my former beloved pastor, Warren Heckman, used to say, "The Christian life is pretty simple
...Read, Pray and Obey Every Day!"
