We write because we want to, not because we have to. We write for fun, for joy, for discovery.
On Fridays we just write without worrying if it’s just right or not. Won’t you join us?
Five minutes, no overthinking, no back tracking, no editing, and no formatting 
I added that last one.
Trust…
Ready Go
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
Helen Keller
When I was 5, I could have died. In 24 hours my father and brother had descended from a village in the mountains where my dad had been working, my mother had given them the diagnosis, we had packed a few things, and left the life they’d been called to. Nepal is no place to fight leukemia, especially in the early 80′s.
We flew to Holland. Pray circled and swirled around me for those weeks in hospital. Knees bent to the ground, hands held, and voices lifted with petitions for me, a child who knew only that the needles hurt, the room was cold, and the Dutch nurses lack bedside manner.
I lived. Healed, really. And it became a part of my story. Yup, this is why we left Nepal and eventually went back to Hawaii. This is why we had to leave third world missions. This is why my parents had to seek out God’s will in a country they never felt truly a part of, America. But as a child, I never really questioned the trust that was required.
As a mother myself, I can’t fathom the confusion and despair that would surround me if my child was threatened and their life was asked for. Would I be able to trust?
My mother came to a place in her heart during those hospital nights grasping my tiny hand where she was able to say “Yes Lord, if this is your will. I will trust you.” My mother who worries and frets about the funniest little things. Who we joke has a forever furrowed brow and always methodically thinks through things. And yet, she is a woman of amazing faith.
Going to Nepal with two small children and a promise of $75/month in support. Trusting that God would see them through.
It is such an odd dichotomy. That one could have faith to do the enormous, but the fear to hinder the modest.
But I think I may know why. Sometimes faith is easier in the crisis. What other option do you really have? You can trust or you can… flail against the inevitable? But when it is drawn out, it can become harder. To have faith in the small things when there are other routes you could take and avoid having to trust completely. To still be willing to walk the called even if you could take a different path. Trust is hard, but are we still willing to walk the called because it is His voice that is calling?
Stop. Now head over to the link above to read what others have written in their five minutes.
I did take an extra minute copying that quote from my screen and putting it into a little boxy thing.
“Faith is easier in a crisis,” I think that’s true. Maybe it’s why the saying, “there are no atheists in foxholes,” is (or was) popular. When my child was hospitalized, I had trust in the God, the doctors & nurses, and I trusted my husband when he told me Bryan would be fine. And yes, my trust came easily then, because like you said, what was the option? Great story, glad you were healed to share it. ~Nita
Nita recently posted..A Lesson in Trust
Nita, I’m glad you were able to put your trust in God when your child was sick. I visited your blog and saw all the lovely quilts. We live near Sisters, Oregon and my mother and I always attend the quilt show there. Beautiful stuff. I’ll have to check out your book. I don’t quilt yet, just my mom, but maybe someday when I have more free time. Thanks for visiting and happy quilting.