Final Days

If you have not heard yet, the Holland family is leaving Ecuador. In August I will continue seminary studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth, TX. This plan has been in formation since December, although it had not come to its current form until a couple months ago. This transition means a lot of things, especially for two missionary kids and their Ecuadorian son. More than anything it has meant learning to rest in the arms of God as we leap forward in faith that he will be all that he has promised to be for us.

As I have been processing this new step in my life, I've been working my way through Genesis. Genesis means beginnings and not only is the beginning of the world described in the book, but character after character experiences transition after transition to something they did not expect. Hebrews 11 refers to these character's faith in a home that they could not yet see, but believed that they would reach eventually.

Home means a lot to me. At first home meant summer at my grandparent's farm drinking really cold Welch's grape juice from a Tupperware mug. Later in my life it meant playing hard outside in a jungle rain with my best friends. As I got older, home became much more elusive. I wasn't sure where I was comfortable to breathe easy. Being with my family was always good, but it seemed to be in a different place very often. I lord the farm and I missed the jungle. I even missed the dry air of the Andes, but home sunk deeper into me than anything I could experience.

I think that the concept of home became a deep drawing that led me further into the Gospel of Jesus. The truth was, I was not satisfied with homes on earth because they always changed. Holding on ever tighter did not mean better homes, it often meant more pain when it changed. But, I Christ I have a home that does not change. A friend that does not leave and a place to go forever. I read recently that if every migrant person were to comprise a country, they would make up the fifth largest country in the world. That is an enormous people group. The Lord has a purpose in moving people. We see that we have nothing that can't be taken away. He becomes our constant.

Loren