“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) We left little Debbie as she was winging her way back to school at Kent Academy from home in Egbe, Nigeria, for the remainder of first grade. Will she settle in at KA? Will she recover from homesickness? Before we continue with the story, I want to give…
Can you imagine being sent away to board at school right after kindergarten? So painful for the parents and so painful for the child.
The droning of the airplane engine made my six-year-old body sleepy, but I also felt like throwing up. To soothe the nausea, I crossed my arms over my tummy and took three deep breaths, like Mom had taught me back home. The right wing dipped. The single-engine Piper Comanche buzzed low along the clearing in the jungle, and the pilot pointed out the front window. “The plane just scared all the goats off the runway into the brush, so we’re…
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10,11 (ESV) The warm tropical sun beat down on the tarmac of the playground outside the classroom window. I couldn’t seem to focus on my schoolwork. I’d like to go outside and play in the…
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. Isaiah 9:2 (NIV) “Christmas will be here soon,” my first-grade teacher said. “In a couple weeks you kids will fly back to your parents on their mission stations for the holidays. Today you’ll make a Christmas craft to take home.” Twenty happy faces beamed around the sunlit classroom at the boarding school for missionary children in…
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Psalm 91:1,4 (NIV) “We hope you like it here at Kent Academy and soon feel at home,” the dorm auntie said with a welcoming smile the day I arrived for first grade at the boarding school for missionary kids in…
May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant. Psalm 119:76 (NIV) “What are you doing?” The auntie’s dark, wavy hair appeared above my Curious George book, and her voice tugged my mind back from the jungle to the girls’ dormitory at our boarding school in Nigeria. “You shouldn’t be reading here in the lobby, slouched in that chair on this sunny afternoon.” At her brusque tone, I snapped my book closed and sat up…
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. Psalm 55:22 “My tummy hurts!” I said to my classmates, as three of us first-graders sat cross-legged, playing jacks on the front steps of the girls’ dorm. I rubbed the loose waistband of my shorts. One girl counted out ten tiny metal jacks and glanced up at me, squinting in the bright, African sunlight. “What’s the matter?” she asked. “I don’t…
“Good morning! Rise and shine!” The sing-song voice in the hallway tugged me awake from dreamland, and my eyes peeked open. “Morning! Time to get up!” Repeating the perky chant, a dorm auntie marched down the first-grade hall. “Rise and shine.” She paused in our bedroom doorway and flipped on the light switch. My eyes clamped shut like a mousetrap, at the brightness of the bare, overhead bulb. Yawning, I raised my arms overhead and stretched from the tips of…
Many of you celebrated with me when the Upper Room announced they had selected my devotional for publication. Thank you! Today’s the day it appears in print and online, and I’m sharing the link with you here. Photo courtesy of The Upper Room