If you want me to...

Ginny Owens sings a song about going through the valley or the fire if He wants us to. Sometimes we find ourselves in places we don't understand, and while I cannot say that I am in
one at the moment, they so often come without warning. However, even in those times of pain where we fear being burned, or believe that if we do not see some sunshine soon we won't make it, we still have to be confident of our stories.

Everyone has a story, and this is a theme that seems to be coming up in my life more and more. Today, I learned that a friend's dad died suddenly. I learned of another whose father abused her when she was young. While one now deals with the loss of a loved one and the other lives with the pain of past abuse, both these women have stories that need to be told.

When I listen to stories like these, I wonder what my story will turn out to be. But that is not the point of life right now. The point is to keep living the story that is currently unfolding. It is exciting and it is painful. Sometimes I just sit down and cry because of how much is out of my control and is only in God's hands. But other times I can only laugh when I see how beautifully He has orchestrated everything in my life thus far.

Last year, my story looked much different. I was at Focus on the Family Institute and decided it would be fun to spend my spring break in Brazil with Taylor World Outreach, once I got back to Taylor University in the spring. On a whim, I applied and was accepted, learning later that was the most applied-for trip and the team was chosen very carefully. So I went...and that was that. Now it is seeming like that was the end of Book I of Christine's life because it will all be building off of that one small trip.

Or maybe not.

But that is the very thing that keeps life interesting around here. Don't you want to keep reading? I do.