Endurance

          I am at orientation in Colorado and God gets all the praise. My flight on Friday was scheduled to leave at 8:50am, but was delayed twice because it needed repairs and the necessary parts had to be flown in. Unfortunately, the buses which I was going to take from Denver to Colorado Springs don't run after 8:00 or on Saturday, so I would have to find some other way to get to Colorado Springs. After a third delay we were switched to a different plane and left at 8:50pm. God knew what he was doing though and provided a ride to Colorado Springs without even having to take the bus. My cousin Spencer was at a concert that was getting out late that night, and instead of spending the night in town as he had planned, he kindly picked me up at the airport on his way home to Colorado Springs. We got to talk on the way down, which is rare because we live so far apart.
         Needless to say, after hours in the airport I was exhausted and felt frail. On the plane, which carried only 11 of us, I read Romans 5:2-5 "and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." I could definitely tell that my endurance had been stretched, so I rejoiced. However, I could tell that I was holding on to control and that having all of my plans turned upside down was not sitting well with me. I couldn't sleep because of anxiety. Not extreme anxiety, but my mind wouldn't stop to rest. It took the whole plane ride and a wait for Spencer for me to give control back to God, and not just give him control, but rest in His arms content with whatever He would do next.
         Now I am at orientation with 26 other interns who are technically minded, love my Jesus, and want to serve Him. I smile every time I look around at all of them. Allison, Brad, Kevin, and I, the Costa Rica interns, got to finally meet. I'll secretly study them this week so that I can give you a character portrait next time. Thanks for praying because on Friday I was thinking maybe I'd never make it. I guess God still wants me here. I'd love prayer for good sleep because I lost a few hours on Friday and haven't been sleeping well (new place, excitement). I'd like to be well rested so that I can pay attention and learn everything I can during orientation.