Transformations

It has been an amazing journey over the last several years to watch as the Lord has transformed many things in my life in preparation for this journey.

Growth – In education as I went from an Associates Degree to a Bachelors degree to obtain a position in East Texas so that I could join in a church that supported Mercy Ships with their tithes and offerings.

Grace – From an attitude of relying upon God’s grace to make it through my muddled purpose life, to an ability to let Grace flow through me to others as the focus of my life.

Dependence – My stubborn independence and control (I think that is a genetic trait for Texans) has been changed to an almost childlike expectation to see how the Lord will provide for me next or help me to do without something that I once felt was desperately important.

Physical – A joy in my life has always been to cook and enjoy meals and fellowship without much care for my physical health. But to be a mariner you must be fit, so this journey to the Global Mercy has transformed me down by 65 lbs with just a few left for the goal of complete compliance with regulations. A new joy transformed from this is in jogging and sharing healthy meals at gatherings as I sleep better and have more energy than I did literally 20 years ago. And not just me, ,since December of 2016 the Global Mercy has been transformed as well. We both have benefitted from the transformations just as the bible says in Jerimiah 18 “This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” ³ So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. ⁴ But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.⁵ Then the word of the Lord came to me. ⁶ He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.”

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Excited anticipation for the day I can stand beside this healing vessel and before my Lord in thanksgiving for all He has done for and through us.