Contact With the Outside World

I am beginning to see how easy it is to loose touch with people at "home" when you move to another country.  With the small amount of free time we have, it has been difficult to keep up with everyone.  I am thankful for things like facebook that allow me to enter into other's daily lives in just 5 minutes a day.  I am also thankful for friends who have taken the time to write a card or letter, make a call, or even send a short e-mail!  Just today, one such letter arrived, and with just the encouragement that I needed.  You see, with the elections over and things in the news that I had no idea were even being voted on in certain places, I began to be discouraged that our country is moving only in one direction...down the toilet bowl.  I'm not sure why it became so bleak and dismal in my mind, but it was really disheartening.  Well, when James came home on his break this morning, he was carrying a large piece of mail, causing a great excitement to build.  Turns out it was from someone I don't even know, but who now knows me because of the internet, this blog, and our updates.  This couple has been praying for our family for some time, and they decided to share a little bit about themselves in order that the relationship wouldn't seem so one-sided.  Included in their letter, was a short article from Answers in Genesis about creatures that make their own light, and glow in the dark in the depths of the ocean.  And here is the point of this story...God knows just what we need!  He knew at that moment, I needed to be reminded that we are the light of the world.  (Funny, that just happened to be our memory verse this week...I must not have been paying close enough attention.)  And though the world around us is full of darkness, and even ruled by the Prince of Darkness, we have a light inside of us that cannot be extinguished.  Though politics don't take a turn for the better, we can still put our light on a candlestick, so that it gives light to all who are in the house!  Our God is amazing that he can use glowing sea creatures, people I don't know very well, and mail to teach me more about himself and to encourage me to trust him more.