Good-bye for now

Tomorrow morning we leave for Mexico. Somehow, I feel less prepared than last year. My non-Christian friends, please bear with me here...if I had heard one of you utter this three years ago, I would have thought you were crazy. I would have loved you anyway, so I pray the same for you when you read this. My faith has grown so much in the last few years in ways that even I don't often understand. In an earlier blog, I contemplated why God was rattling me this week. Not long after that, I experienced another "blow" and another and so on. I had a long talk and an awesome prayer with a minister, plus a talk with a girlfriend, and later it became clear. God has nothing to do with this. Satan knows the good works that we have in mind for next week, and he's throwing stones at me. I kept telling my minister that I feel so ill equipped to handle this "bad stuff" this week. But I know with God, ALL things are possible. So even though I feel sad, depressed, miserable, angry, bitter and confused this week, I'm not letting my emotions control me. I dove straight into my mission devotional. I want God on my side as we prepare for this trip. I want God on my side always, and I acknowledge that it means there will be challenges ahead. Satan has a way of finding our weaknesses and playing on those. Still, I will go on. Pray for us these next 10 days; we have much to do!