My Adventure with Papa God

My journey is my relationship with God and the adventures that He takes me on. So here is something from my journal I'd like to share with you.

This is a  Journal entry from April 28, 2012.

With our move coming upon us in a month, I sit here at my laptop and wonder:  Papa God, where are we moving to?  I wonder what kind of place? Is it an apartment, duplex, triplex, a house? How large of a place? Will it be a studio, one or two bedroom apt, house,  or even in someone’s basement apt?  Will we still be in the Ballard/Greenwood area or Shoreline or Spokane or Olympia?  If you had met me probably 10-15 years ago, I would have been freakin’ out!  Truly freakin’!

I wanted and needed security; a known place to go to where all my “stuff” would go to.  Now -

I am on an adventure with my Papa God. He has Jim and me on an adventure with Him. He provides what we need: financially right now, since Jim isn’t working full-time or even part-time, the food we eat and everything else.  I have to smile, because for lots of people….including myself sometimes, that’s a hard place to be. But, let’s go back and re-cap…my journey with my Papa God.

We’ve always wanted a house to call our own:  a place that we could invest in and use as a sort of ministry base for us. Well, after almost 29 years of marriage, that still hasn’t happened, and may never happen.  I can see in some cases where that would have been a GREAT burden for us.  When we both lost our jobs at the same time (1995), yet God called us to minister in Japan for two years. It would have been rather difficult for us to do that with a house payment and such. All we had to do was give notice of departure to our landlord, pack our “stuff”, store it for a couple of years then head to Japan with a little bit of our belongings.

  

In Japan we lived “simply”.  Didn’t need much, and we didn’t have the space for it either.  We not only survived, we thrived.  We were relying upon God to meet our needs.

When we returned from Japan to Seattle, we had changed. God had taken us through some lessons that we could not have learned here in the states. Some were a precursor to how we live now. He took us out of our comfort zone and away from our deep social base.  We had to learn to rely upon Him to help us and direct us.  Oh yes, we met friends there in Japan and they are still friends to this day, but when we first left Seattle, I felt like I had something ripped out of me. I am assuming it was the same feeling that Eustice Scrubb felt when Aslan began stripping away all the “layers” of stuff on him in “Voyage of the Dawn Treader” by C.S. Lewis. 

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Now, in 2014 we are still continuing our journey with Papa God. He still cares for us. I don’t mean that in a light way.  He takes care of all our needs. I'm not "freakin'" out so much. I have a greater peace within me.  That I believe stems from my discovery of who I am and Whose I am.  When my crazy journey began, Papa God gave me this scripture to hold on to. It has been a comfort and yes, even at times, a HUG from Papa God letting me know He has taken care of things for me.  Some days are easier to handle than some others, yet He is always there. Always Good. My rock and my salvation.

 Psalm 23 (The Message)

God, my shepherd!
    I don’t need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
    you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word,
    you let me catch my breath
    and send me in the right direction.

Even when the way goes through
    Death Valley, I’m not afraid
    when you walk at my side. Your trusty shepherd’s crook
    makes me feel secure.

You serve me a six-course dinner
    right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping head;
    my cup brims with blessing.

Your beauty and love chase after me
    every day of my life. I’m back home in the house of God
    for the rest of my life.