Thus we embark...

Well, we embark in like a week anyway. But it's exciting, isn't it? The promise of a new land, the adventure of setting out to regions unknown, the wonder of meeting new people...a bit dramatic, these feelings, but nonetheless compelling and exciting. And why shouldn't I feel this way? I'm on another exciting personal journey as well--my first child will travel with us in utero, and as I experience firsthand the miracle of life growing inside, I am constantly reminded of the beauty of our theme "God in between."

Where is my son right now? He is at a place that our society has told us is "in between"--not yet alive, but certainly in existence; not yet human, but with tiny hands, feet, a brain, a beating heart. The lawyers argue even as I write this about what this tiny life might be... a person with rights? an animal? a specimen?

Oh, but people, my son is "in between." And it is there, in that place, that I am experiencing the miracle of God's creation at every single moment in the most profound way possible. God was shaping this baby boy, his personality (he even stuck his tongue out and wiggled it at us on our ultrasound), his life, before I even had an inkling that I had been given such a great gift. I am "in between"--waiting and waiting for the moment when I finally get to meet him. And it is here that my faith is increasing moment by moment, as I learn to trust in God to make this miracle happen. God is here with me and Mike, in our in between, creating a connection between my baby and me.

I see this trip through the obsessive eyes of the expectant mother. We are pregnant with expectation and wonder as we take this journey. We will be forging new relationships every day that will grow and shape under God's soft hand. We are following in the footsteps of so many saints before us who have reached out to know new people and new places, and yet it is always the first time for each one of them. And God is in between us, all the time.

Our prayers are with you here at home as we journey forth, that we can, through this blog, help you share in our experiences and join these relationships. May you find blessings wrapped around you every moment.