Very Humbled

Today I received a beautiful gift (see picture) from a pastor in Nigeria. It is a hand made garment for men to wear. The reason I was given this gift from a man I have never met, from a place I have never been, is he read my book "Noblesse Oblige" and wanted to express his gratitude for my writing the book. It is very humbling that a man from Nigeria would be blessed by something a suburban white American had to say.

How did he get a hold of the book? Well, a couple in our church bought the book for their son who was graduating from college. He in turn took a school related trip to Nigeria and brought the book with him. He gave it to the pastor whom he happened to be staying with. The pastor so enjoyed it he wanted to give a blessing to me. So the couple and their son met me at church today and gave me the gift.

I hope and pray that one day I can go to Africa. I want to experience the beauty of the land and the beauty of the people. I want to witness the hand of God upon the humble church in Africa. Maybe I can even meet the pastor who read my book.

I remember when I was writing the book having the thought:"I wonder if someone from Africa read my thoughts would it connect with them?" I honestly thought that! Well, I guess my question was answered. It is very fulfilling and humbling at the same time. I did not write the book to be rich and famous, but to grow in Kingdom influence. My hope is that it will continue to challenge people to spend their lives on what matters most regardless of nationality or culture.

Revelation 7:9-10
"After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." NIV

Change

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
There is a time for everything,
a season for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
A time to tear down and a time to rebuild.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to lose.
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
A time to be quiet and a time to speak up.
A time to love and a time to hate.
A time for war and a time for peace. NLT

I am feeling a bit uneasy today. It is mind boggling how fast time goes. The summer is coming to an end (where did it go?). Kids are preparing to go back to school. Football season is on the way, and the leaves will be changing and falling before you know it. Like it or not seasons change. Seasons come and go.

I had the thought today that my oldest daughter only has 5 more summer breaks and she will be out of school! That puts things into perspective. I can remember the day she was born like yesterday. How fast time flies! Whether I like it or not my kids are growing older, I can do nothing to stop it.

Change is a paradoxical experience. Change is always experienced in a two-fold way by people. Depending upon the experience, change is experienced as loss by some and as exciting to others. The same thing that is experienced as exciting to some is embraced as loss to others.

I guess the best thing we can do is to embrace change as a reality of life. Embrace it as an adventure to live through and allow it to point us to the hope we have in an eternal God who thankfully never changes.