This was in the first care package we received in Dakar and I've worn it everyday ever since I opened it.
"This place where you are right now, God circled on a map for you."
There have been days since starting this grand adventure that I've thought, "is this really where we should be?" Although we prayed about our decision and saw God time and again confirm that coming to serve with Mercy Ships was exactly what He was calling our family to do, there still have been days of question.
Well, in the past week, which feels like a year or two, there have been many moments of questioning - do we stay or do we go? One moment we feel confident that God called us to serve this crew when we came here and it wasn't contingent on the normalcy of the world's events. Why would we leave now just because we're in the midst of a pandemic? But then in other moments, as more information comes out, we wonder if we should get back to the U.S.
We've watched friends around us book flights and have them canceled just before they're supposed to leave. Friends who have decided to fly back to their countries and then hear that the airport in Dakar is closing. Friends who were told that because they are high risk, they must return to their countries within 24 hours. You prepare your heart to stay, and are told to go. You pack your bags to leave and then are told you can't. It's been a crazy emotional rollercoaster for many.
But, this place where you are right now, God circled on a map for you. Our location, whether on a ship in the sea or in a home on land, is known precisely by our God and He is with us. We don't know what the future holds, but we know who holds our future, and this place on the map where we are right now, He knew long before we ever arrived.
"All the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be."
-Psalm 139:16
A dear friend wrote me, "Don't you marvel that we are not off track according to the plans of God?" We are exactly where we are supposed to be for this moment in this day.
So do not be afraid, don't worry, do not be anxious about what tomorrow might bring. The God who created this planet and hung the stars has ordained your coordinates for such a time as this.