Same but different

      

 ...that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 

 may be able to comprehend with all the saints 

what is the width and length and depth and height

 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; 

that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.                            

Ephesians 3:17-19

Same Same...but different!

Almost Home!  I am so excited to see the map of California on the flight tracker.  I feel like I have been gone for a lifetime and the further away I get from Cambodia, the harder it is to find a place to stand with my heart divided between two places.  It is nighttime back in Cambodia. Some of the the kids are looking for a place to sleep.  Some are trying to get home.  Most are trying to avoid the ones they fear the most. The ones who hurt them.  It wrecks my heart to think about it but I let the tears flow?  I have made a decision never to be ashamed of these tears.  It  is morning here and  I can see the sun rising outside of the airplane window. As we prepare for landing, I begin to gather up my things and my thoughts and I prepare myself to greet my husband and family.  Everyone is so  happy to have me home and they are eager to hear the stories of the past few weeks, but truth be told, this scares me a bit.

But that is what I do.  I see things and I tell stories.  The difficult part for me right now is that many of these pictures and stories are  deeply connected to the heartbreak and suffering of children who I have come to know and love . Some of these stories will take a while to process before I can speak of them at all, but these are the things that I must talk about until the children are safe.   This is what I went to see and telling their story is what God has prepared me to do.

There was a  shirt that many of the team members wore on the trip.  The front says...SAME SAME and the back says..BUT DIFFERENT!

In so many ways I am coming home the same.  I believe that this mission validated what I know to be my strength and my purpose.  My resolve to share the truth of God's love to whoever He puts in front of me has not changed.  Whether that is at home in San Diego or across the world in a tiny village in Cambodia doesn't really matter.

In that way, I am coming home the same as I left.  BUT... God has allowed me a greater glimpse of  his heart for the lost and the hurting. I have been privileged to see their beauty, and their pain. This has radically shifted my thinking and  deepened my understanding of Him in ways that I cannot begin to communicate.

The kingdom of Heaven is like this.  God has made us complete in Him through Christ and the gifts and calling upon our lives are irrevocable.  As a new creation, complete in Him and filled with the Holy Spirit we will remain the same until Jesus ushers us home. And yet, as we follow Him,  our understanding of His ways will continue to grow, and the  revelation of His love towards us will forever amaze us for it 

Him and filled with the Holy Spirit we will remain the same until Jesus ushers us home. And yet, as we follow Him,  our understanding of His ways will continue to grow, and the  revelation of His love towards us will forever amaze us for it is truly more than we could ask for or imagine.  We remain hidden in Him and we will move from glory to glory to glory, to glory! 

SAME, SAME...BUT DIFFERENT,

Love from home,

Julie