2-13-07
T minus (7) days and counting! Money...check. Bible....check. Passport....check. Visa.....Visa.....Visa......hmmmm. Let me get back to you on that! That's one of those things my company is taking care of so let's just say "CHECK" in the hopes that it really IS taken care of (even though I've not heard anything yet). Let's see, what else is there? Oh yea, shots! That's on the schedule for tomorrow. I'm told by the company folks that none are needed -- right!! That's why it pays to have friends at the CDC!

I've had some folks ask me if I'm scared or what will I do if I get shot or any number of 'what if' scenarios. Well, it's easy to answer actually. If I get shot, well, I'll go to the hospital at Camp Eggers. If something lethal happens, then it's okay. But here's the kicker -- I'm not really scared about any of that. I know I'm going and will be covered by the wing of the Lord of Creation so not much else matters. Does that relinquish me of paying attention to my surroundings? Nope. Does that mean I can walk down the street and not care about the loaded down van that just passed me? Nope. I still have to do my part and pay attention to the information I'll be given in the security briefing. No matter what, I know that the Lord has ordained this trip and I just need to depend on Him to provide. We all know that's not as easy as I make it sound, but really, it's not as difficult as we make it sometimes either.

Something struck me last night while listening to a story from a friend that really put some things into perspective. If I say I want to live by the Word of God and that I want to follow God's will and calling then I should probably pay attention when He speaks and ask questions along the way. There've been a lot of things in my life in the past couple of years that I've done where I didn't ask the one important question: "God, is this something you want me to do?" Sometimes we just know, like we KNOW God doesn't want us dealing drugs or shooting someone. But what about driving 10 mph over the speed limit? We KNOW it's wrong, but do it anyway. What about not treating someone as though they're valuable and just seeing them as a means to an end or a way to fill a desire for that moment? What about blowing off a bike ride to spend time helping a friend? HELLO?!! The most important thing in our lives is serving others and not ourselves.

So in that light, I'm off to Afghanistan. My company thinks it's for their work, but I know it's for something entirely different! Even if it's just to allow the Lord God to change my life, then that's better than getting in my car and driving down I-75 each morning with no purpose.

Here's some light reading if you're interested:
Heb 12:1 (you might want to peruse Heb 11 first!)
Psalm 37 -- there's a whole lotta good stuff tucked away there

I gotta go....more things on the to do list to check off. Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day!