Silk Threads

We are aboard a DC-8 on the leg of our journey that takes us from Singapore to Japan. This flight runs twice a week from this location and is a luxurious way to travel. The back of the plane houses twenty-six first class seats and is walled off from the rest of the plane which serves as a cargo vessel. We are served  salmon, shrimp salad, fresh steamed vegetables, pasta with real cheese, bread and butter, and a glass of wine for lunch. For desert,  we are given the richest piece of chocolate cake. This was truly a first class ride.

As we head back I have hours to think of our journeys. I am forever grateful for the time we have had to be  together and the sacrifices made for this  kind of travel. To our family, we have missed you so very much and thank you for all your help and especially your communications to us so we never felt too far from home. Being away from you is the hardest part of our travels. For those of you who cover for us while we are gone, we owe a debt of gratitude we can never repay.

I find my self contemplating all that has transpired in these last few months.  I have been fascinated with something that I had thought about very early on in our trip. I am not sure if it had to do with the area we were in or the things we had seen but in the beginning of our travels I had dreamt about silkworms. I am not sure if the intensity of that dream had to do with God or the fact that we have been taking anti-malarial medications but it was an  exquisitely, beautiful dream. And, I don't usually say that about dreams that have worms in them. Some of the most beautiful silk in the  world is produced in the areas we visited and I was fascinated  how a worm could produce  a thread that would eventually contribute to something as beautiful as a piece of silk.

It seems that the silk worm has only one purpose in life.  That is to produce silk thread. Beautiful and strong thread.  I could watch for hours as the women would take these fibers of threads and faithfully intertwine them together and watch as the thread was transformed into beautiful silk. While a single thread has some strength and beauty in its own right, when combined with other fibers it transforms in to something  greater than itself.  I found many occasion to watch the women at the looms and never grew tired of watching this process.

It made me think of my life and the mere fiber that I am. On my own I am but a meager thread. But, with the many threads my life is interwoven with I have gotten to be a part of something beautiful and enduring and greater than it would have been if left on its own. You who read this are the foundations of that cloth. You are the beginnings and ends of the fabric that is my life. Other threads come in and fill the empty spaces. For me, when we travel we have the opportunity to incorporate the threads of other lives into this cloth. They add a dimension and a beauty  that we would not have found had we not been exactly where we were. They enhance the finished product in a way that is unforgettable and is of the greatest value to us. I love the beauty that they add and I am forever enriched because of their contributions.

I have  been blessed by a beautiful career serving and caring for others. And, while the venue for that has changed,  the depth of relationships and the way God has woven all those 'silken' threads together will not change and will always be a part of who I am. The touching of so many threads has deepened my life in many ways  and for the beauty of  that I am forever thankful.

I also realize that  I am a work in progress and so I open myself up for all that is yet to be. I am ready for the new  fibers that are sure to come my way. And while they may look a little different,  I know they will add just what is needed. I am trusting He who weaved and knitted me together in the womb of my mother...

We are home this morning and when I reflect upon the exquisite favor we have had during our travels, I thank God for His goodness to us. I am forever thankful for the way He has woven together all the threads of our lives and that we share together in the works of the Master.

We are happy to be home…see you soon!