Question four is a tough one to answer let alone consider.  It is the hardest one by far.  Here it is;

How amazing is it that God knows all the details of what concerns me? I am truly a foreigner. I don't know the language or customs of my hosts. I am not the driver. I am the receiver of much!

I love to be in charge of things.  I love to lead.  And I love to take care of the people who follow me.  But for 42 days, I was NOT the leader.  I didn't even drive until I came back to the United States.  And I love to drive.  I took a cross country trip before I was married and drove to various destinations that I dreamed of going to.   I loved driving my VW Jetta.   But this trip didn't afford me that opportunity.  And for that, I am pretty grateful.  Driving in some of these countries could only be a death wish!  And just in case you were wondering, I don't mind following either but that's not the point of today's blog.

As I was NOT the leader day in and day out, I trusted God even more.  I think there is something exponentially true about being less in control and God more in control.  And when I am not in charge, I am very concerned about a lot of things.  Things like our safety.

At one point, Jonathan (who likes to collect knives of all sorts) was drawn aside at a train station in Northern China.  After our hosts (5 including two very agitated, muscular nephews) continued in heated conversation, and after I watched people in the station back away from us, and after we were ushered into a side room for further inspection, I figured that the situation was not good.  I envisioned scandalous news stories being projected back to the U.S. and such.  We later learned that the knife that Jonathan had been transporting was an item in question.  In all the other cities, large and small, it was never a problem to go through all the security checks and scans.  But this city official was not going to let us proceed to the train we needed.

I pondered Paul at this point.  He had assignments in prison.  Perhaps our next assignment was at the local jail/police station.  We were told later that the nephews were threatening to beat the official up.  One of them actually offered to take Jonathan's place and go to the police station in his place.  Sounds kind of like a spiritual parallel to what God did for us.  But I digress...

The official kept the knife.  We got on the train.  I wondered if in the next 12 hours, as we were packed like sardines travelling a mountainous region, we would be escorted off the train at some local police station or if we would be hindered in any way on our way to another city.  The sleeper car packed us in three high with less room than there is in a coffin!  As I considered our safety, I had to conclude that God was in control and that I could still sleep that night, even though I didn't know what would happen in the next few hours.  We were fortunate to have gotten on the train.  And we were fortunate to get to our next destination without incident.

The transportation systems are so complex in China.  The schedules dwarf even the grandest stations in the United States.  The places we stayed were challenging on various levels.  I wondered how we would stay healthy through all the time away from home.  I asked God for a lot; and He delivered.

I had lots of concerns while I travelled.  When I came back to the U.S., I found that my faith had a "disconnect" as I walked it out differently.  I want to redeem the two; faith as I travelled and faith here at home.   I want to see the two halves come together as I shift my concerns to what concerns the Lord Jesus Christ.  I want to share my concerns, worries, anxieties, joys, and sorrows with the God of the Universe.  He wants to know about what concerns me.  He pursued me even before I knew Him.  And because He is God, He knows me in my innermost parts. 

For this, I am grateful.  He knows what concerns each of us.  He is a good listener.  And He acts on our behalf and moves the Heavens for His children.  I am grateful for this, too.

Where can we go except to the Lord?  And in seeking Him and His presence, we are not disappointed.  I know I never have been, especially through this trip around the world.