Jules in Indonesia

As I contemplated my writings over the past 7 years, looking back at the lives I was placed next to to look in on, the experiences that I was given to endure, the moments that I walked through, I started to think on what the common thread might be. What had God really taught me through living in Indonesia? What treasure had I come away with?

I sat in our Guesthouse, the only beautiful place that I could go alone in the dark-feeling and crazy-disordered town we lived in on the island of Tarakan. Curled up in a wicker chair, reading through past posts, I began to notice a thread that went in and out of each paragraph.

The thread started to sparkle, and as I came to the last sentence, I saw it gleaming in every experience that I had jotted down.

The prick of the needle went deep, much deeper than the ink and paper ... it went so deep that my heart squeezed like a sponge ... And cross-legged with papers around me like a quilt, my soul stood in awe ...

God had taken me on a treasure hunt in Indonesia ... and I had found jewels. Seven jewels. And not only "jewels", but "Jules" ... He had changed me in the process.

"There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined."  (Job 28:1)

I hold these jewels deep in my heart.  He can take what is rock and make a jewel out of it.  Our God is a beauty maker.