Hit the pause button.

A moment of reflection. In three days we will leave India. We will come back, no doubt a little tired and a little sad to leave family and friend, but nonetheless we will return. And when we do come back, these first 20 months in India will forevermore be an essential part of our history. It will be that part in a conversation where we sigh and smile, "Remember our first 1 1/2 years in India? Remember when..." And we'll trail off into a story that may make us feel a little older, a little weathered, and maybe a little more accustomed to the way things are. I cherish many things about this chapter. It is here I have learned to drive stick shift and learn the "rules" of Indian driving. Here I have learned the art of making tea and it's subtleties of taste. Here we conceived and gave birth to our firstborn son. There is much, some of which I won't fully comprehend until more time has passed. The God who parted the ocean's so long ago, who preserves justice through his people, who is first and foremost compassionate (yes, even before being an angry God!) and slow to anger, is a good God. He is watchful and kind and good. Even when life is ugly and answers don't come, He remain good.

Thank you Lord for these good first, but not last, 20 months in India.