Lessons from Lightning Bugs

A few evenings ago I was outside when I saw an unfamiliar flash of light. A lightning bug! I forgot about lightning bugs! For some reason I started thinking, “I wonder if there is something I can learn about lightning bugs that will give me insight into life.”

So after doing a little research, this is the most interesting thing I found… “Lightning bug light is usually intermittent, and flashes in patterns that are unique to each species. Each blinking pattern is an optical signal that helps lightning bugs find potential mates.” OK…well…that’s not exactly the kind of information I was looking for, but it made me laugh.

It’s been three weeks since I returned unexpectedly to the States, but every day I am reminded of God’s incredible goodness and faithfulness that brought me here, and I am simply in awe of His perfect timing.

The week leading up to my unanticipated departure from Ethiopia had a been stressful and emotional, and as a girl…accompanied with many tears. By Wednesday, I finally decided that I was coming home to see my Grams and say goodbye to her, at least for this side of eternity. I was leaving in 48 hours. In my heart and mind, I knew that I was making the right decision, and God had given me great peace about it. But this didn’t make it any easier to say goodbye.

Aside from packing my suitcase and clearing out my room, saying goodbye to the people that I have come to love so much in the past 10 months was my biggest priority. Of course it was hard for me that I was leaving early, but it was even harder to have to go to each of my friends and say, “I’m sorry, but I’m leaving in two days, and I just came to say goodbye.” I hated it.

As often happens…nothing was going according to my plans. So each day…each hour…sometimes even each moment…I kept saying out loud and in my heart. “God, I trust You. I don’t understand why all of this is happening. This is really hard, but I trust You.” I can’t even begin to count the number of times I said it.

When I walked to say another painful goodbye to yet another person… “God, I trust You.”

When I was uncertain about whether or not my tickets were booked… “God, I trust You.”

When I was worried that there were certain people I wouldn’t get to say goodbye to… “God, I trust You.”

When my flight from Mekelle to Addis Ababa got delayed 6 hours and I was fearful that I wouldn’t make my international flight later that same day… “God, I trust You.”

When the man working for Ethiopian Airlines in Mekelle gladly printed my international  ticket… “God, I trust You.”

When I was worried that I wouldn’t make it out of the airport to go to the SIM Headquarters in the capital city of Addis Ababa to get my belongings from there… “God, I trust You.”

When someone from SIM HQ offered to meet me at the airport with my belongings… “God, I trust You.”

When I finally boarded my international flight after spending 13 hours in 2 different airports… “God, I trust You.”

When after 17 hours of flying, I was throwing up and crying in the bathroom of the Washington Dulles airport… “God, I trust You.”

When for the first time I was reunited with my whole family at the airport… “God, I trust You.”

And when I saw my Grams laying in her Hospice  bed, a different person than when I left 9 1/2 months before… “God, I trust You. You are so good to me. Thank You for allowing me to be here and bringing me safely home.”

And now here I sit, three weeks later, still saying it over and over again… “God, I trust You.” When I start thinking about those little flashes of light from the lightning bugs, I imagine that each flash is another confirmation of God’s faithfulness and goodness.

Many people ask me all the time, “What are you going to do next?” I have no idea. Literally. But that’s OK. Because I know that God is trustworthy and more than deserving of my confidence. So I wait. Maybe it’s Ethiopia again. Maybe it’s Ohio. Maybe it’s North Carolina. Maybe it’s somewhere that I haven’t even thought of. But in all of the processing and the waiting, He keeps saying one thing. “Just trust Me.” And each day He shows me again and again, like flashes from lightning bugs, that He is faithful, His timing is perfect, and that He has plans for His children that we can’t even begin to ask for or imagine!

So when I know…I’ll let you know : )

What I Miss the Most

My first and dearest Ethiopian friends Semhal and Emebate...the answers to my prayers before I went to Ethiopia

Practicing my terrible Tigrinya and spending time with the beautiful girls at the orphanage

Playing with Redi and the other precious kids at the blind school

My youth center coworkers who became some of my closest friends (from L to R: Rufael, Estaphanos, Fitsum, me, Belay, Kioros, and Hailie

Monday macchiatos with my dear friend Ababa

Playing with Arsema...my favorite little girl

My evening English class...my favorite part of the day (from L to R...Mebrahtu, Tsinat, Kbrab, Fisha, Dahlak, me, Semere; front row Zinabu)

My Ethiopian sister Sarah

Practicing my English and Irish accents with my roommates Esther (center) and Sarah (right)

My morning English class...how we laughed so hard (from L to R Fkrte, Zufan, Meseret, me, and Amete)

Having my hair styled and drinking peanut butter tea with these hilarious girls (From L to R: Debranish, Fana, Kissanet, me, Terhas, and Fana)