Reset

Thanks to all of you who wondered about the blog going silent. For every message you sent I know there were even more prayers. I am not here alone. 

I hadn't realized how abnormal this year has been until my body caught a nasty cold and laid me flat for four days. I had fair warning. When you drive through devastation again and again, and you find yourself saying "oh how terrible" with no emotion, it's time to pull back and take some time to reset. And small problems loom large when fatigue sets in. So my body forced the reset switch. 

Thank Heavenly Papa for wise leaders. They heard more than I knew to say, and once I was well enough to get out of bed, they sent me off to winter camp to rest up. 

Rest comes in many forms. Tubing and snowshoeing are two of them. Knitting and getting interrupted to teach finger-knitting to eager kids are two more. Chopping onions and wiping dishes in the camp kitchen work too. Trying to convince a snow country kid that I really truly don't know how to ski is remarkably refreshing. (She hasn't tried to teach me yet though.)

In the quiet moments, I wonder what I can bring to people who live in the midst of destruction. Not all that much, beyond stealth prayers and a little bit of normal. But unlike my last trip, I'm beginning to see that simply "being with" is valuable. I like that. 

There's just under a month left on my tourist visa. A not-quite-traditional New Year here at the camp, and I'll be ready to jump in again. Can't wait to see what happens next.