This is the crazy thing- I’m being hosted by a family who warmly welcomed me even before meeting me- just purely on the basis that I’m a doctor serving in Tanzania.
This mother-daughter duo (mother is a doctor; daughter is a doing high-risk work in Africa) reached out to me to say that they would love to have me as a guest when I came to Oxford, when a friend’s friend’s friend told them about me.
More than saving costs, what I really wanted was friendship and company, both of which God gave.
But the craziness doesn’t end there.
I love my quaint little room, with an open window wide onto beautiful greenery, complete with blackout curtains which I need.
Nestled in a quiet neighborhood filled with the changing colors of autumn. I had no idea the kind of home I’d be walking into today- and God surprised me with their amazing hospitality and their beautiful garden…
… and their beautiful homegrown organic produce from their backyard, which nourished my mind, body, soul today as we ate farm to table for lunch and I sat in it to read in the afternoon.
I’m beginning to see, how maybe, just maybe, when I let go and surrender, I can trust God to know what I actually need and want more than I do know.
And of all days too…
At a season where I’ve been wrestling so much with spending on myself, and second guessing myself if spending on the conference and trip was worthwhile, and cringing at the bleeding costs of all these travels… (I packed a Tupperware to make sure I could pack my lunch for dinner)… God also chose the same morning of my departure to have two different people (who don’t follow my socials and who don’t know each other) to transfer two separate love gifts of identical amounts to let me know He not only cares, but He can provide. Even if it’s just a day before the trip.
😭😭😭
I am learning this season, to spend on what aligns most with God‘s heart— because when we pay the price of obedience that costs us something, He can provide in amazing ways, beyond our expectations of imagination.
The voice that keeps shaming me for being “useless because you can’t drive” and “unbelieveable because you don’t use google maps” kept quiet today as I navigated the quaint town on my own using my intuition, memory and talking to strangers, which is how I’ve travelled in over thirty countries in the world.
It works for me.
I’m telling the voice to pipe down.
