I heaved the huge pan from the stove top and carried it to the tub. "Foreign frontier mission-preparation," I thought to myself with a grin, scooping up water from the basin to wash my hair. Our furnace strangely stopped working the day before, and we hadn't had hot water since. "I'm so glad that my parent's trip to China was delayed after all," I thought. What would Amy and I have done when we no longer had hot water or heat? I would have had enough trouble calling the plumber, much less identifying the real problem.



It was late August when my parents received an email with the dates for their departure to China. We were all very eager to get our new brother Jonathan, and with growing excitement my parents shopped, packed, and received advice from other adoptive parents that had made the long plane trip to China and back. But then - we faced bitter disappointment. The consulate in China put us off, and instead of my parents leaving in 5 days, they were leaving at some unknown point in the future - possibly a month from then. "Why?" we wondered, "how could this be? Is this God's leading or the result of life's necessary trials?" I was comforted that the Lord indeed had a plan, and that this was just one piece of the puzzle, even though it didn't make sense.



It was days after our family's disappointment when we faced a new, emerging problem: our Quarter Horse Molly. Twice she spooked for no apparent reason as my mother and cousin rode her, and even though the mare had great ground manners, she acted resistant when ridden. I was surprised to find that she was no longer the slow poke lesson horse that I had known before - now she was sensitive, touchy, and irritable. We invited a trainer to come and try Molly out, and I was shocked to watch the horse buck, rear, and jerk her head as the trainer gently worked with her. We hadn't finished paying for the Quarter Horse, and it was providential that we found out before October when we would have to pay the rest. Was this yet another reason why my parents' trip to China was postponed?

And last but not least, a suicidal, drug addicted individual at large, is in the area running from the police. This by no means makes us feel secure, and is yet another reason why my parents are thankful that their travel date for China was delayed.

Molly was returned to her owner, the furnace was fixed, and we don't know about the criminal but we feel safe with our parents here.



God had a plan, and we trusted Him even though we did not understand. My parents are preparing again for their departure, and with the crisp breezes rippling the trees which are now turning faint colors of yellow, red, and orange, so comes the winds of change as well. Another fall has come to New England, and with it I have learned many valuable lessons. Maybe one of the most challenging to learn, is complete trust in the total unknown. It is encouraging to see how God works everything out for the good, even though it was unfortunate that my family's trip was delayed. But I am determined to trust ultimately in my Heavenly Father, even though I won't always understand. I can have faith that He holds all the pieces to the big puzzle.

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

I was only two years old when I met Katie, a cute redhead at campmeeting. At first I remember us pacing the grass outside of her house when we were tiny, wistfully staring at each other and pondering in our little minds what to say. As time passed, we graduated from our shyness and got to know each other much better. Katie's younger sister Tory, and my sister Amy would suspend jump-ropes from their top bunk and we older girls slid under the bed to tie stuffed animals to the bottom handles. Together we became involved with music and everyone tackled recorder, dressing up as angels and playing a special music near Christmas time. Our golden headbands and belts were tickly and itchy, and soon we had to file out of the pew and change. Our family's took adventurous walks in the summer, vigorous sledding parties in the winter, and had camp-outs together in the fall.

As the years passed we girls emailed and chatted, living in the pure joy of true friendship. The memories will go on and on. We had so many adventures together! I remember a cold winter day and a particular slide which sent Amy and Tory right on top of each other. They were laughing so hard, they appeared to be a mass of giggles resting in a heap in the white snow. And the time when we got lost together, ran from a swarming nest of ground bees, and ended up in someone's backyard in town. We enviously passed by a woman sipping a luscious glass of lemonade on her front porch and satisfied our appetite with sour crabapples as we trudged up our road. Taking a walk, we giggled and stuck ferns and flowers in our dad's back pockets as they talked together. I remember when, more recently, we girls gave a special music at their church and the microphones screeched like I've never heard before. The memories went on and on.

Last Sabbath, we finally gathered together to say good-bye. This family - our friends for almost my entire life - were taking a journey across the country to go to academy. We took a Sabbath walk, wandering through the woods and found a winding dirt road up Tucker Mountain. When we got to the top of the hill, we rested together and refreshed ourselves with the beautiful view. Yet there was a trace of sadness as we rested together, because we knew this was the last walk we would take in a long time. At home we sang a few songs together, and my fingers lingered over the piano keys as the last strains of harmony ceased.

After saying a tearful good-bye, we watched our friends walk to their car. I could only wave and watch them leave. In a way I felt that I was saying good-bye to those past years of childhood, and that things would never be the same again. Again I faced reality: life is full of change. Some change brings us pure joy, and some brings us heartache and pain. But through it all, Christ calls me to surrender all to Him and ultimately trust in His perfect plan. Friendship is a beautiful gift that God grants us, and I have learned how precious it truly is. I want to thank each and every one of you for being my friends. Let's live next door in heaven.

He Cares

"Abby!"

I roused myself from the depths of "The Story of Redemption" to hear Papa's voice calling me from the other side of the basement.

"Yes?"

There was a quick silence and I strained to hear what he was saying over the noise of his huge box fan which he kept in his window.

"Can you hear it?"

I dashed down the short hall to Papa's half of the basement.

"Can you hear it?" he repeated.

"What?"

"Listen."

Sure enough, that troublesome cricket had escaped. I have always held a fascination for all of God's creatures, and just recently I had found myself juggling eight small-mouth bass in my fishtank, one fearsome crayfish, and two crickets. After a night where my grandfather couldn't sleep from the chirping, I decided to release the little creatures, but to my dismay, I found that they had escaped. Now somehow one of my crickets had made its way into Papa's room.

He turned on the light, and I searched frantically to find the insect, but it had stopped chirping.

Wearily I walked back to my room and waited to hear the chirping again as Papa turned off his light. Sure enough, soon the little feller was making shrill chirps echoing through my grandfather's room.

"Lord, please help me find it," I prayed, knowing that it was nearly impossible to find a cricket in his many bookcases, crevices, desks, and so on. Thankfully the chirping continued with the light on. And then I saw it, chirping away on top of Papa's desk. After several grabs, I caught the cricket in my hands. "I got it!" I announced triumphantly.

"Thank you honey," my grandfather sounded relieved as he prepared to go back to bed and turn off the lights.

I let my cricket jump out into the cool night air with a smile. He joined the many other crickets outside as I slid "The Story of Redemption" back to the usual place under my bed.

Not a day seemed to pass but that I realized all over again: God cares about the little things. He cares about the little cricket to the horse that our family is getting. He cares about the little trials just as much as the long, hard struggles. Knowing how Jesus cares about every little thing in my life cautions me to be careful even in the things that don't appear to matter. Whether I prove faithful to Him in the little trials of life determines the final outcome of this battle for my heart. To know that God cares for me and my future, inspires me, convicts me, and gives me courage. I can face whatever lies ahead when I know that He ultimately cares and will do everything in His power to take me to His kingdom.

Amy's old violin sweetly calmed me with the soothing melody of Pax, meaning "peace" in Latin. It was a warm summer evening at our little church during a musical program. Calmly I turned the pages of the sheet music, letting my fingers linger over the snow white keys.

Then - the music was gone. Somehow the last two pages were missing, and I found myself jolted from my calm reverie and facing the stark facts - I had to play by memory.

Automatically my fingers glided over the keys, and I stared at them, trying to remember what the last chord was. I was astonished to watch myself play the music that was not in front of me. Unsure, I played a chord softly, and then another, and another, until I found the right one.

Sometimes life seems so sure: you know what you want to do, what you want to be, and how things will end. The music is so beautiful, calm, and soothing, and it feels like this could go on forever. But suddenly the pages turn and you find a blank future ahead of you. Changes come quickly to your life, and only complete trust in God will lead you through.

How happy I am that I can turn to a blank page in my life and trust God to lead me through!

He Sent the Rain

Sitting on the front of the raft, with my feet dangling in the cold river water, I marveled at the beautiful nature surrounding me. How thankful I was for life, for my friends! I could have sat there at the front of the raft for hours, just letting the cold water ripple through my toes as I pondered life in general. Grandpa let us know that he was not thrilled with this Father's Day event, spending a boring time rafting in a river with no rapids. I had offered to make it more exciting for him - like tipping the boat or something - but he didn't act very thrilled about it.

Behind me, Grandpa was straining at the oars. "I can't keep this raft straight into the wind without you rowing in the front," he said with despair.

I gingerly picked up an oar and winced as my knees scratched against some grainy bits of sand at the bottom.

As we worked against the wind (which was pulling us upstream instead of downstream) the sun beat down on our backs. I grew hot and tired and wondered what the cold water would feel like if I was dunked in. "Throw me overboard," I told Grandpa with a grin.

"Something's wrong with Mamma in her raft," Bethany pointed.

My mother had just recovered from being sick for two weeks, and she was still recuperating. I could see my mother lying down in the boat while Grandma rowed alone.

"What's wrong?" Grandpa yelled.

"Suzanne's feeling sick!" Grandma called back.

We paddled over to the boat with concern. "Are you alright Mamma?"

She nodded faintly, but I could tell that something was definitely wrong.

"She's feeling nauseous," Grandma explained.

We all decided to paddle back to where we started off and unload because of my mother's unfortunate illness. Dark, looming clouds began to form on the horizon and they grew closer, casting a silent shadow over the water. I honestly didn't feel like jumping overboard anymore. Suddenly raindrops began to patter over our heads.

We tried to win a loosing battle as we paddled as fast as we could for the boat launch. I knew we could never make it back before we were soaking wet - it was too far away.

Faster and faster the raindrops fell, pelting into the water and making tiny, beautiful impressions all over the river. I wished that I had my camera with me to both capture the scenary and my grandpa's grimacing face.

Just as it began to really downpour, we neared a muddy beach and waited for a few minutes as the rain began to slightly calm down. By that time it was too late - we were all soaking wet and I was oddly amused at the significant turn of events.

Afterwards we all talked about the adventures we had - when we missed an oar and Bethany leapt out to get it, when I jumped overboard and forgot to take off my hat, and when Grandma and I sunk our toes into the deep mud of the river shoreline, pulling the rafts behind us.

My mother was very sick, and rested for the rest of the day. We believe that she suffered from heat exhaustion that day in the Connecticut River. It took her eight days of bed rest to regain her strength and health.

"The rain," I thought, "God sent the rain to cool my mother down." Others might have considered the rain a discouraging moment in our rafting trip, but I was thankful for the rain more than ever before. The coolness of the raindrops prevented my mother from having a heat stroke...and a longer recovery!

I am determined to accept the sun or the rain as both a blessing. God ultimately knows what is best for us, and although we may not always understand, He does. The Lord cared for my mother that day by sending what we naturally thought was an inconvenience. Instead, He had granted us a special blessing. How glad I truly am that He sent the rain.

Blessed Day

Recently I've been studying about the Sabbath and the blessing that God has in store for those who keep it. I've always loved the Sabbath - and I love it for many different reasons. To have the special communion with my Creator, to enjoy sweet fellowship with other dedicated Christians, to praise God through music, and to worship at His house - this is all wonderful! But what makes the Sabbath even more meaningful, is to realize that God blessed it.

"For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Webster's diction defines "hallowed" as "made holy or sacred; honored as holy" and "blessed" as "holy; sacred; consecrated." It is fascinating to realize that the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, contains a blessing that no other day has.

When God blesses something, it is blessed always. "For thou blessest, O Lord, and it shall be blessed for ever." (1 Chronicles 17:27) And His blessing cannot be reversed by man, for as Balaam said, "Behold, I have receieved a commandment to bless: and He [the Lord] hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it." (Numbers 23:20) God's blessing on the Sabbath will be lasting, and He also blesses those who keep it "Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." (Isaiah 58:14)

I wouldn't be who I am today without the Sabbath. I ponder what life would be like without it. I thank God for such a wonderful day where I can take a break from the week. Truly, "A world without a Sabbath...would be like a man without a smile, like a summer without flowers, and like a homestead without a garden. It is the most joyous day of the whole week." - Henry Ward Beecher.

The Wonder of Redeeming Love

"In this life we can only begin to understand the wonderful theme of redemption. With our finite comprehension we may consider most earnestly the shame and the glory, the life and the death, the justice and the mercy, that meet in the cross; yet with the utmost stretch of our mental powers we fail to grasp its full significance. The length and the breadth, the depth and the height, of redeeming love are but dimly comprehended." (Great Controversy pg.651)

Years ago I struggled with feelings of emptiness. I searched for something that was not there, and struggled to feel accepted by God. At times I would experience happiness, but it wasn't lasting and I found myself confused when didn't understand what was happening. God's love was before me, but I needed to allow it to work in my heart. The Lord loved me -as a vile sinner - but if I didn't accept His love into my heart, it would do me no good.

Oh the wonders of redeeming love! No wonder we can't comprehend it; no wonder we can't understand it. Countless times we hurt our Redeemer by slipping into sin, but He ever loves us no matter what we do. His love calls us to be better people, to turn from sin, and to pursue truth. This love is unlike anything that I have ever known before.