Underestimating

Since moving to Korea, there have been many things I have underestimated. For example, I underestimated the difficulty of learning the Korean language. It is quite challenging. Nor did I understand the difficulty in adjusting your tastes to a new diet (see my last blog). I also underestimated my wife Beth's ability to adjust to such a foreign culture so far away from friends and family. She has been amazing and God has blessed me far beyond what I deserve in having a wife such as her.

And just when I was beginning to feel comfortable with my life in Korea and feeling that I was really starting to understand and enjoy the culture and way of life here, I underestimated the feelings of homesickness. This point was punctuated with an exclamation point today as my family and I took my mother-in-law and niece to the airport. They had been visiting for the past 2 weeks and it was such a great blessing to have them here. But watching Sarah and Karen cross through the gate as tears streamed down the cheeks of my wife and daughter, I found myself envying them. I realized that they would soon be home. Tomorrow, they will be riding through familiar places, reading signs in a language they can easily comprehend, and eating foods they have been enjoying all their lives.

I do not regret being here. This is our home, even if only for a time. I know that this is God's will for our lives as a family and we truly take pleasure in living our lives in the shadow of his wings. He is our shepherd in good times and in bad. And I am certain that the one thing it is impossible to overestimate, is his sufficiency for all of our needs.

As I reminded my daughter tonight, one of the greatest blessing of God's creation is that a day never last longer than 24 hours (except for the occasional intervention of God through one of his prophets). Tomorrow the sun will rise again on a new day. God will still be God. We will still be his children.