Pacific Thoughts

Day 2 of travel and I am on my third flight.  I left Michigan 40 hours ago, and I am currently half way to China over the Pacific Ocean.  I spent a day with some friends in LA before leaving this afternoon for my long stretch of travel. A 14 hour flight from LA to Shanghai, China followed by a 4 hour flight to Bangkok, Thailand a long layover, and then a one hour flight up to Chiang Mai.  Although it has been close to 2 days since I left, I still have 33 hours before my plane lands in Chiang Mai.

I am following a clear calling to Thailand.  I know that I am in the right place.  I know that He has called me into international missions - but if I'm honest, this isn't easy.  Yesterday I began to get really nervous about moving so far away.  My nervousness turned into being scared to leave. I woke up early this morning at my friends apartment in Costa Mesa, CA in a panic stricken fear that I was leaving.  I realized that really, I'm not sure what I'm walking into.  I had 3 hours left in the United States.  I could potentially be taking my last hot shower.  The next time that I got into a vehicle it was most likely going to be a little tuk-tuk driving down the left side of the road.  I was scared that it was going to be too different, that I wasn't ready.  

I called a good friend and she spoke Truth to me.  Reminding me that Jesus asks us to take our thoughts captive and be obedient to Him.  I needed to focus on what He was asking, and His character and who He was - not what seemed scary.

Have you ever taken a day to REALLY take your thoughts captive.  Have you ever taken the time to think about what that means ? What are you thinking about? Does it line up with Gods character? I was intentional about doing that today! and do you know what the result was?  I have peace.  I wasn't scared anymore.  I'm not going to lie, I did - even after taking my thoughts captive - have a moment of panic when I realized that it was time for my flight to board and there was no plane.  I was at the wrong gate.  But. It lasted a moment, and when I got to the right gate and boarded my plane, I let it go.

Although...

I think that was valid.

So as I make my way across the Pacific and drink green tea as I'm writing to you I am listening to the words of a song from the band 'Enter the  Worship Circle'  ( and listening to everyone around me speak Cantonese...) which say:

You will turn your ear to me

You will hear my cry for mercy

You will loosen things unseen

What can man do to me

You will be my help in trouble

You will be my place of refuge

You will cut these bindings free

What can man do to me 

I am encouraged by this song that there is nothing that man can do, nothing that I can come up against here on earth that is going to stop God from reaching out and helping.  He always hears me.  Always. So I am going to hold onto that as I go through customs in China so that I can pick up my luggage and transfer airlines before heading to Thailand.  Praying that I am able to find where to go on my own in China and not miss my flight.  Hopefully the next time we talk will be from Thailand ;)