Time Standing Still, yet the World Moves so Quickly..

There is joy in knowing I am His and He is mine. Comfort I can only find in His arms and in His will. To know and to serve. To be loved with such a power that even in my darkest state, my rebellion, my vanity and my pride He still penetrates and covers. This kind of power is matchless and it is what I live in, through and for. I promised myself I wouldn't cry until I had taught my last class this afternoon but I knew I needed one more blog before I left Huangshi. So now the tears are flowing and probably wont stop but I had to share what the Lords been doing in my heart today. I have pushed off the reality of goodbye for the past month and now here I am, packed sitting in an empty apartment and feeling overwhelmed with emotion. Tears of joy mixed with tears of parting sorrow, I sit and all I can do is praise. Who am I? Who am I that I would be blessed with the privilege of living, knowing and loving these wonderful people? I came here not knowing what to expect and I am leaving with a heart that is overflowing.. The last year of my life has been a constant web of crazy events that have humbled, taught, and changed me. Why is it only in goodbye that we take the time to reflect on what was carried in the "hellos"?
Processing what has happened in my heart and in my life over the last ten months will take time. But one thing I do know is that I have been blessed beyond understanding. Experiencing the love of an eternal Father through living in a place that has now become like a second home. China and its people are forever stamped on my heart. I have no question this is not the end. For I know His love knows no bounds.. it knows no distance. And even though I have to say goodbye for now I know that the heart He has given me and the relationships He's set apart will remain. I know that He has a plan and a journey.. that this is only the beginning of something greater. So I look forward not in despair or in sorrow but with hope and excitement. Being here, I now know the reality of a life without a Savior. A world that seems backwards to what we know in our large communities in the US. Here I have learned how love speaks, not only in words, actually hardly in words, but in time and in action. The fruit of your life and your heart reveal themselves and in Him are set apart. If we abide in Him, He abides in us and that truth reveals itself in who we are. How we move, how we speak, and how we react.
I have found the abundance of His grace in the reality of my failure. How to make mistakes and then laugh in the joy of His love.
Only in the agony of parting do we look into the depths of love.  ~George Eliot 

These dear children and sweet friends will never fully understand the joy and the impact they've had on my life. So for now I leave you with some pictures of the faces that have changed my life and have stolen my heart. I promise to update on all the final events and to share more reflection/photo's of the last few months once I am back and settled. I owe so much of who I am to those who have supported, loved and encouraged me. For those people I am forever grateful!

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."

"I will bless the Lord at all times;

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

² My soul will make its boast in the Lord;

The humble will hear it and rejoice.

³ O magnify the Lord with me,

And let us exalt His name together." 

“ Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the nations,
And I will sing praises to Your name."


He is faithful. 
He is good.
Always.