Virtual Hand Holding

These were the longest, most exhausting flights I've ever not been on!

Just a few hours to Atlanta, then 8 plus over the Atlantic to Amsterdam, and the last 11 1/2 from the top of Europe to the bottom of Africa. I finally exhaled when I read her text this afternoon that she and her luggage had arrived safely in Cape Town.

Then I cried. Tears of relief, I think.

There is so much I want for her. So much I want her to see and experience while she spends her summer in a land she's always dreamed of.

"It's for this reason I do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory , may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe." Ephesians 1.15-19

My Stretching Momma Heart

Tomorrow my first baby girl leaves home for the summer. On a plane. A big plane headed to another continent. Too far away for this momma's heart.

She is so excited. And I am too. Almost. Why is it that watching them grow and letting go is hard?

I am so proud of her for being chosen to be a part of this study abroad team. I'm proud of all the things she's accomplished in only 21 years. I'm proud of her relationships with her siblings. But if all that was gone, I'd still be proud of her. Just who she is, what she ponders, how she serves.

I love you, baby girl. You make my heart sing.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, 

for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

Joshua 1.9