O Give Thanks to the Lord

Being away from home is hard. Living in China is hard. Having to get to know 40 strangers and live with them for ten weeks is hard. But all that I am thankful for far outweighs the difficulties and inconveniences that life in China brings. Because I'm obsessed with lists, at random times I've written down things I'm thankful for in this summer program. I've only written down 100 but I know there are so many more things for which I am thankful. From the incredible experience of language and culture immersion to Christian friends and a Bible study to Papa John's delivering when it rains and not having to go to the hospital for my rash, I remind myself to dwell on the truth of all that God has provided and blessed me with. But at the top of the list for sure is God's Word. Because it is His Word that has truly been my source of strength, comfort, encouragement, and motivation this summer. I've been reading through the Psalms, and it has been so awesome to see how the Psalm I read for that day speaks so directly to my circumstances and brings that peace which passes all understanding. Psalm 96:3 says "Tell everyone about the amazing things he does" so I want to share some of the verses that have particularly stuck out to me and encouraged me.

The night before we left the States I was already feeling really homesick and had cried on the phone with both my mom and Jacob. In my devotions that night the first verse of Psalm 90 really spoke to me: "Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!" It was the Lord just telling me Sherri yes this is going to be hard, but I am your home. Not Farfields. Not the United States. It is I alone who will never leave you and who will be your home no matter where you are.

The next day on the plane I was feeling a little nervous because I mean we're on a plane flying across the ocean for 14 hours, and then I read Psalm 91:11 "For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go." I think that probably includes China.

During our quarantine period, jet lag was kicking my butt and I would lay awake most of the night feeling very homesick and wondering why I was here. During that time, I read Psalm 94:18-19: "I cried out, 'I am slipping!' but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer." Helloooo! That is exactly how I was feeling, and even now I've memorized these verses and meditate on them often. Another cool story with these verses is when I had my horrible rash on our trip, I would just say these verses over and over to myself because I was so uncomfortable I definitely felt like I was slipping, and I knew the only thing I could grasp onto was the Lord's love. One day my mom tried to text me but it actually never came through so she emailed me instead, but her message was the exact reference of these verses! So cool that I had already been claiming them each day and she thought to encourage me with them, too.

What I really love about the Psalms is the raw emotion in each of them that I can so easily relate to. It makes me feel like it's okay for me to feel the way I do, since someone in the Bible also felt that way at some point. Plus we serve a God who desires for us to pour our hearts and emotions out to Him. The second week we were here I got to Psalm 102 and I was starting to feel pretty lonely, like verse 7 says "lonely as a solitary bird on the roof". But I had to recognize that as only an emotion and I had to fill my mind with the truth that God never leaves me and will always be with me, no matter how I am feeling.

It's easy to get caught up in classes and studying and speaking Chinese all the time and not see the opportunities around to share Christ's love with my friends here. Psalm 117 was such a great reminder to me that God desires for all nations to praise Him.

This past Monday night I was reading Psalm 121 and was comforted with the verses "He will not let you stumble" and "The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life". I was thinking wow I don't even know what all the Lord has spared me from so far, but I'm glad I haven't had any dangerous situations happen! Then the next day a friend and I were going to the post office and had a guy follow us for about 10 minutes. We repeatedly asked him to leave us alone and not walk with us, etc. I was nervous because he saw us come out of the bank so he knew we had money, he had already flashed us some of his money (don't know what that means) and there were not very many people around. Then he tried to grab my friend's bag and then she screamed and I started yelling at him and we started crying and laughing at the same time because we were just so hysterical and he finally ran away. It was a really scary moment, and I am so thankful that the Lord truly does watch over us and protect us. Also, my mom woke up at 4:20 AM her time praying for me, and that was the exact time this weird robber situation was occuring, because it was 4:20 in the afternoon for me. God is so good!

This is just a glimpse of how the Lord has encouraged my heart with His Word this summer. He is so faithful and when I think of all He has done for me and all He has blessed me with, I am overwhelmed with thankfulness.