Walking the Tightrope.

"A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life. William Arthur Ward"

It's a fine balancing act; a foot in both worlds; a journeying in the mind before the first step is taken; a series of steps across a gawping abyss because however exciting this is the stark truth is that for all this to take place we must lose Liddy. We are already practising.


Next month Liddy heads off to Melbourne. By plane. On her own. For a whole week. If I refuse to drive her to the airport [because we all know how much I love Brisbane traffic & unknown locations] will she stay home peaceably? Would I want her to? I looked into the faces of the 2 Aussie missionaries who escaped the devastation of Haiti & thought, "That could be Liddy." It sends my heart lurching about like a hooked fish. I want to bail God up & tell him, " That's my girl you're sending out there. You take care of her, hear." I want to lay down all these conditions & have all these assurances when there are no assurances about anything in this life & I remember all too well God's admonition to Job: " Where where you when I laid the foundations of the world?"


So we are practising for the big one with a series of little ones: trips up to ma's; overnighters with church friends; trips to Melbourne. Thinking ahead because Liddy won't be here for her birthday; her 21st. A big one. Do it early. Christmas. She won't be here for that either. Thinking about what she will need to take. Planning presents around that. Early. Getting used to the idea of Lid not being here but halfway across the world. A whole new dimension of trust. Setting up these blogs because there's the whole time zone thing & long distance phone lines are a pain in the butt. Knowing the cat will go into meltdown. And Ditz.


Can't hold her; wouldn't if I could. I have known for so many years that God has laid this calling on her heart & He also let us know she would go sooner rather than later. Liddy was thinking later but I saw her playing soccer with all these kids & I knew it would be very soon. It is right. It is not forever. Not yet. I see the gift blossoming & blooming, bursting to explode in the full power of its gifting but the heart has all these little hair roots & tender fragile tendrils that object to being uprooted & transplanted.


The worst part is I know Liddy's fine now. She's caught up in getting it all together, making her liaisons, organising her prayer support, her financial support, getting to know new people ~ all things that she's really good at. She always was a bossy child. It's some night in Chile after a rotten day when it's going to hit just how far away from home she is, when she needs that hug from mum that I can't give; that's when the loneliness will hit. That's when she will need to stay strong, rest in the Lord, just hang in there.


OM's pretty experienced. They sent out a package of stuff & a lot of it deals with preparing for the bad times, the culture shock, for things not being the way you expect. Liddy's young & flexible. She should adjust really well. What's more, I know she's got something to give. She can make a difference. These are the good works God has prepared for her to do & He has gifted her & will enable her to perform those works He has prepared for her. Yep. It's still a tightrope though.

Ganeida.