Good bye Wendy!

Last week our exchange student, Wendy, left us to go back home to China. 

Once again, it was a bitter sweet good-bye.

Bitter because when a person lives in my home for a month, they become part of my family.  Bitter because I always want MORE time with them, it is never enough.  There is always that small piece of my brain that wishes I could have done more with her, said more, cooked more, shopped more, hiked more, etc.

But it also was a sweet good-bye as I think back over our month with her. As it has been with each exchange student, I got yet another piece of the puzzle in understanding the Chinese culture. When a teenager comes into our country for the first time, seeing America through their eyes always renews my appreciation and thankfulness  for where I live.  Developing a strong bond with a young girl from another country is priceless to me.  Wendy loves her country, she loves China.  Listening to her heart helps me to not have an elitist opinion of America, and to view China not as a country as a whole but instead a country that is FULL of many many wonderful people, people that were created equal to me...in the image of God.

Unlike my other two exchange students, Wendy's English was very very weak and didn't seem to improve that much.  At times this was frustrating to me, as I LOVE to dig deep into life.  However, in God's great goodness, He kept speaking 1John 3:18 into my heart: 

Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

It was very convicting to me how my gut reaction was to always "speak" and not to "act".  I realized that subconsciously I felt like my actions were not enough and I put more importance on what I wanted to "say" to her instead of simply allowing God to work through my actions.   The cheesy phrase, "I can talk the talk but do I walk the walk?" came to mind often.  How much do Christians (like me) stand on what they (I) know and what they (I) can say...instead of on what God does.

mmmmmm, God is so good.  

and I am so thankful for the gift of hanging out with Wendy this summer.

God is always at work.

To Him be the glory!

We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. The man who says, "I know Him", but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  But if anyone obeys His word, God's love is truly made complete in him.  This is how we know we are in Him:  Whoever cliams to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.

1John 2:3-6