I couldn’t resist, really – if you know me, you know it’s true. A play on words cannot go unplayed.

For me, March came in with a bit of a roar, and went out quietly just before a cheer. Of course, we’re now more than a week into April, and the big news just hit three days ago, but we’ll get to that. In March, I had a incident pop up, complete with accompanying paperwork and doctor visits and interruptions. All is well, and I have just a couple of things to do (paperwork, doctor) to tie it off with a bow. Also in March, I picked up full time benefits at work such as health coverage and the earning of paid leave. The six month mark included a performance review which was good and will be followed by a raise (also good). The important point is that the clients I serve have grown measurably in the last six months, due to the stability of the team that serves them and my ability to contribute to everyone’s improved sign language communication. Let that be a lesson to those discouraged by the surrender of their interpreting goals – there is much more to be done with the ability to communicate in ASL than interpreting between two languages at the speed of another’s thoughts.

I finally (FINALLY!) finished the two baby blankets I had worked on for about a year…between moves and graduation and health and logistics and a few rounds of “how am I supposed to do that?!”. They were gifts of love, well received, and offer a few devotional insights such as reverse sometimes being the way forward. The seam ripper was the most used tool on one blanket. I borrowed a friend’s iron to complete the other. It’s good to have friends. Next in the hopper is a purse I promised a few years ago, a wrap I promised a few months ago, and a purse I’ve been promising myself for weeks. There were also about 4 “fix-it fairy” projects, the last of which I outsourced to someone with more experience & stronger equipment. I was reminded that I need to be more forthright with my expectations when delegating. The owner of the piece is happy, so I am also reminded that I need to let go of the perfection standard.

Delegating & standards were topics in the book I just finished reading, “Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours” by Roland Allen. I read it just after finishing C.S. Lewis’ “Mere Christianity”. Both point out the importance of letting God be God. Our task is to represent Him well and introduce people to Him as the source of life and only hope for salvation. Once they begin their relationship with Him, He will take care of instructing them in necessary changes according to how He designed them and the plans and opportunities He laid out for them before they were born. It is not ours to insist on any more or less than what is clearly in scripture. How a church is organized or what quantity and style of jewelry one wears is a cultural issue, and God is big enough to work in the hearts of people from every culture. The key, said both authors, is exercising the faith that God will indeed lead new converts in paths of righteousness, for His name’s sake.

And now for the big news – really BIG: I am officially a missionary, working with Silent Blessings Deaf Ministries out of Anderson, Indiana. I will go to Anderson on April 23 to take a tour and do paperwork, get first assignment details, etc. It’s a 3 hour drive, but I have family living just 45 minutes away. My Provider has me well taken care of. I will continue working in my current job, serving people with intellectual & developmental disabilities, while I transition into full time reliance on missionary support. Funds submitted to Silent Blessings on my behalf will go into an account earmarked for my direct ministry work, such as a week of camp in Michigan this summer to facilitate Bible teaching through the new bilingual VBS curriculum. There’s more, so much more, and so many connections that show how God has prepared me for this place, and this place for me… I remain blessed & boggled.

Pray that I can reign in my spinning thoughts and focus on whatever task is at hand.  I’m like a kid in a candy store with a twenty dollar bill!