The Gift

I think of our time at VCS in Vienna, Austria as a gift from God. We don't deserve to serve Him and it is only because of His grace reaching down to me that I even know HIM. So ministry is a gift. It comes from the life of God in men and we can serve one another in His name. And when a time of refreshing comes, that, too, is a gift. We are thankful for the time away in Schladming. It is one of the most beautiful of God's creations. It was soul-refreshing! The high mountains, the waterfalls, the sheep on the hillside, the beautiful architecture of the chalets, the winding roads, a surprise cluster of homes to make a village. I am aware that it is all a gift! We are thankful to the people who gave a little extra to make this three day journey possible and to our friends who navigated and drove us all around. They wanted to make it special for us.

Here is a little conversation I had with Andrew:

Mom: "Can you even imagine a more perfect vacation than the one we just had?"

Andrew: "Well, we could have met Jesus.....(long pause).....but then I suppose we would have died and that wouldn't have been a vacation."

So I guess it was a perfect vacation time---I think I met Jesus though....in his creation and in the silences.