Along the Way

“Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.” Luke 17:19

There story goes where there were ten lepers.  In today's terms, these would be ten outcasts as people would never go near lepers in those days.  These ten people would have been suffering physically as well as emotionally.

But they asked God for healing and He told them to show themselves to the priests.  They did as they were told and started to head towards the direction of the priests.  But along the way, they were miraculously healed!

It occurred to me that life mostly happens along the way.  Students long for graduation, pregnant women long for the birth of their child, some hope for riches, others for beauty or fame...  But many forget that the magic happens along the way.

God rarely answers our prayers in a finger snap.  He allows us to wait.  The waiting is an essential part of life.  All of nature waits.

I heard of a man who was asked by God to move a boulder.  He started to push.  A day passed, a week passed and the months turned into years.  In anguish he asked the Lord why the boulder has not moved an inch.  God told him to look at his arms which had grown strong and muscular through time.  What God wanted was actually taking place. 

I get really frustrated at not being able to speak Nihonggo yet after more than a year here.  Arrggghhh.  Sometimes you just want to give up.  But there are so many things I miss out when I want things over and done with.  I am getting to know my teachers and classmates day by day and appreciating their uniqueness - and the different cultures from whence they came.  I would miss out on all the laughter and learning and songs and fun we have in class if I didn't need to come.

So take care not to miss the healing and the strengthening and the waiting in the journey.  Don't hurry into the future and don't despair when your dreams seem too far off.  Keep moving in the direction God wants you in and you will experience all you seek along the way.