Upheaval!

Upheaval is the best word for all that has happened since I started this blog two years ago:  family crisis, marital separation, moves from Ecuador to the US to Mexico, supporting a cousin through his wife's decline and a son through demonic deliverance, creating a home for my aged aunt, and then receiving notice of divorce.  I feel a bit breathless recounting it all!

Loja, Ecuador:  home for awhile

When I started blogging in May 2014, "Traveling Light" reflected goals shared with my husband at the time: to live more simply and to see more of the world.  Little did we know what was just around the corner as we settled (we thought!) in Ecuador, poised to explore South America.   

It's been a tough journey (shared in earlier posts).  But some truths have resonated over time.  When we're shaken up, what cannot be shaken becomes clearer, such as God's faithfulness, and the empathy of Christ.  Dealing with the feeling of being betrayed has helped me understand the betrayal of Christ by those closest to him.  Further, in a time of great trial, Christ himself asked to be spared!  He understands our emotional turmoil in the face of pain and loss, and empowers us to forgive as the way to peace.

Mexico:  Celebrating Aunt Lois at 88!

This saying also now rings true for me:  Our disappointment can be God's appointment.  God got me to Mexico so I could provide a home for my Aunt Lois at the precise moment of her need.  And while walking through my own pain, I've been able to help other women with an empathy that is now much deeper than it was before.

Two powerful images of Christ came to me recently.  They have greater meaning when considered along with words from poet/preacher John Donne.  In his last sermon, Donne encouraged us, amid the tumults of life, to "hang upon him that hangs upon the Cross, to bathe in his tears…"   

The first of the two images of Christ was shared by a friend struggling with family pain:  While we embrace the Christ of the Cross, the stinging arrows that pierce us--whether accusation or betrayal or loss--pass through us and into Christ.  The second image is a poem written by either Aunt Lois or her friend Thelma Book (neither is certain!):

These Drops of Blood

Bathed by the sunshine,
Lightened by sleep,
Laid in the arms of Christ,
The pain which yesterday I bore
Is lighter today.
It never passes away,
But teaches the bearer
That these drops of blood
Never flow into nothingness,
But join with the crimson of His cross
In healing for others.