I'm feeling so content...

I'm sitting here in my bed, investing in my connections with people I love via facebook, email, and blogs. I'm listening to country music and thinking of home. And yet, I'm not filled with empty longing. I will be home soon. I can hold onto that hope with anticipation and patience.

Have I mentioned that God is good? I don't see how non-believers can leave home and spend a long amount of time doing something like this (teaching overseas, working with medical relief aid, digging wells for fresh water, etc.) without knowing and feeling the confidence, hope, and comfort that comes from divine love and sovereignty. We as humans may have some desires within us to help and serve others, even to the extent of sacrificing our own comforts, but I can't imagine doing it without the superbly motivating purpose of serving the Creator of the Universe and helping others to see Him for themselves.

Last night, I went with some teachers to the movies to see The Blindside. For that two hours, I felt like I was home in more ways than one. For starters, I saw the movie in Birmingham, so seeing it again was like going back. Then, as should be obvious, a movie about southern people and SEC football has a certain ability to envelop some of us who feel that those things have almost become a part of our DNA over the years... Finally, it made me think of Vincent. The main character, Michael Oher, reminds me of a student that I taught there.

We got home last night just in time to make it safely inside our apartments and houses before a huge thunderstorm rumbled in... Most of the time, if it rains here, thunder and lightning are not involved, so once again, I was reminded of Alabama. As I read a book and listened to the thunder booming all around me from the safety of my bedroom, I remembered how I once thought storms were so scary and dangerous. Now, as long as I'm inside, I'm more tempted to think they are another aspect of the beauty of the Creator. Yet, maybe they're both, and in that way, perhaps God's power isn't always safe and comfortable, and beauty can be dangerous...