I Know the Plans I Have For You

The past six months have been some of the busiest of my life. Serving as principal at CCSI combined with our lack of intern teachers due to travel restrictions has caused most of my days to pass in a hectic blur and has caused the ongoing feeling that there are always more tasks to complete than I can get done. And the honest truth is that I am tired, both physically and mentally.

But God is so gracious and His provision never ceases to amaze me. During the most stressful days, friends and teammates have rallied around me with words of encouragement and tangible offers of help. My students are a constant source of joy and comfort to me. CCSI's Christmas break began a few days ago and has been providing some much needed rest. I woke up this morning after getting over 10 hours of sleep and began to feel the fatigue lifting from both my body and mind.

I am not the only one who's life has been made infinitely more challenging due to COVID. Around the world, our lives continue to be disrupted and the ways that we do ministry must continue to change and adapt. For every step we take forward (such as eating our first meal together during Girl's Bible Study since the pandemic began), I feel like we take another one back (such as Japan's borders closing again and further delaying the arrival of our interns). So much continues to remain uncertain and unknown. Yet what a comfort it is to know that none of this takes the Lord by surprise. He is never caught off guard and His plan is never thwarted. In the midst of our uncertainties and frustrations, He remains constant and faithful. I may feel weary, but He is so strong.

We had our Youth Group Christmas party after school on the last day before break. As I was washing dishes, one of my students was helping me dry them and she told me how thankful she was for me and that she wants to be like me when she grows up. Her words brought tears to my eyes. Another one of my students wrote me a letter for Christmas and said that something that she has always admired about me is the example I set of passionate faith and deep caring for others. Words of affirmation is my primary love language, so these words were so encouraging to me. But I don't want to let them feed my pride or arrogance. Rather, I want to give all glory to God where it belongs. The fact that He enables me to impact those around me despite my weaknesses, my imperfections, and my sinfulness is such an incredible gift. These past six months of extreme busyness and often feeling like a failure have nevertheless been tempered by times like these when I am able to see a little of the impact the Lord is allowing me to have and a little of the work He is doing here.

As I reflect on this past year and look forward to the new year to come, I am once again humbled by the Lord's amazing power, plan, and provision. As Jeremiah 29 says, "'For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart'" (11-13). Despite the stresses and worries that surround me, despite the uncertainty and doubts of life, God continues to be faithful. He knows the plans He has for me and I am so impossibly grateful to follow where He leads. And I am so impossibly grateful for each and every one of you, for your prayers and support, and for your partnership in the Lord. Thank you for helping make it possible for me to be where I am and doing what I am doing! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Japan!