Hope

Sitting here at the Shangri-la hotel, I am aware that I have several things to do before going to practice for the English concert this afternoon. I am also painfully aware of the four people glaring at me to get off of the computer. My head is starting to pound from the group of loud Chinese business men sitting at a nearby table and all I can think is that my parents will be here in a week.

Life will bring many changes over the next year- of that I am sure. I am unsure what those changes will be, whether God will allow me to stay here for a year, while providing in unique ways for my finances to be cared for. Whether I will be led further into the world and become part of a different people. Or whether He will open doors back home. Although I am looking forward to see how He provides- I must admit I am finding it harder and harder to trust that this year He will supply the immediate needs of friendship- the end of this loneliness I have battled over the past year. I am becoming more reliant on Him- but so many times, I feel like the man in Pilgrims Progress needing Hope, the companion that finishes the journey. This past year, I have come to understand what faithfulness is and in times when I am most discouraged, how it is important that I remain faithful to the call that has been placed on my life. It would have been easy to give up and go home to a language I can understand and speak and to friends and family I have. But sticking it out for two years was something that I knew I needed to do- because I knew that I would learn more about myself, my faith and life in general. I would trade nothing about this year- and I can only pray that as I go into this next year, Hope comes in with the strength I am still seeking.