Freedom!

This was our first 4th of July in America with Ashlyn & Abby. Last year we were in Canada, so there was no talk of freedom or of our beloved country. Ashlyn and I went for a walk last week and I told her all of the things that make this country so special. She took it all in and said, "yes, in China, you can worship Jesus, but you have to be very quiet." I'm not sure if I've mentioned it here before or not, but Ashlyn knew about Jesus before we came for her. She was attending a small missionary church in her rural town. The pastor and his wife would come to pick up some kids from the orphange on Saturday mornings and take them to their house where they would hear stories from the Bible, sing songs, and eat lunch. Ashlyn has a deep desire for the things of the Lord and she loves Christian music. She tells me, "it's good for my heart." Ironically, she came downstairs early one morning about a year ago and told me she had a new favorite song. We had given her an ipod with music on it and she would fall asleep to it most nights. I asked her what her new favorite song was and she said, in broken English, "love is on the move." Then she said, "It makes my heart feel good, it makes me cry." I've said it before and I'll say it again, with God, there are NO coincidences. Did she know that was the song that inspired this blog? Did she know that God had used it to speak to my heart about her? Nope. Of all of the thousands of songs on that ipod, she loved this song the most...

When the days get foggy and all jumbled up with noise and confusion and sometimes really hard feelings, this is what I go back to. The beginning. God's promise. He is near. He is still at work. He will not leave us. He will not leave us. He will not leave us...

Blessings,
Rebecca