Praying, Waiting, Trusting.

There’s been a lot of jumping between states the last few weeks, but I’m writing this from Wheaton, Illinois just hours before catching the flight that’ll take me to my final destination- home.

I envisioned this first newsletter arriving to you a bit earlier than it has- after leaving Spofford on the 14th and driving to Minnesota to visit family I was expecting for everything to align perfectly to get to Tirana this last Monday (the 22nd) in time for GDQ’s orientation. TeachBeyond couldn’t approve my departure until I had reached at least 90% of my funding— while I speculate what they would’ve actually done to prevent me from flying out last week, I knew there was a reason God was holding me back at a time I would’ve preferred to just get going.

I’ve been repeating the same three words almost daily since first seeing them hung on the wall in my grandparent’s sunroom- pray, wait, trust. Praying isn’t the hard part, but the waiting is. I have a tough relationship with patience. I kind of think we all do. I can say all I want about trusting God’s plan and believing his timing is perfect, but most of the time the little self-righteous Aaron in the back of my head is standing with his arms crossed and tapping the ground with his foot. This last week I’ve experienced the unease of waiting to a degree much higher than I think I have in the past, but the environment I’ve been in has made all the difference. I’ve made my way back to Wheaton College a handful of times since graduating and every time I leave I find myself just a little more spiritually ‘full’. With all the opportunities there have been to undermine the significance of waiting the last week, I’m reminded of just how many doors God has opened to get me where I am- all the doors with TeachBeyond, with travel, with work, with funding.

There may not have been any other reason I was stuck in Wheaton this week except to be reminded that waiting doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. Waiting means more time to walk familiar suburban streets, taking all-school communion with the Wheaton student body, reflecting on life over breakfast with a good friend, and sitting in on a Mariology class. God is good. That is all.

My work at GDQ officially starts on Monday. With the quick turnaround, please be praying for my transition into new rhythms of life and work. Kind of new to this whole teaching thing.

Peace,

Aaron