Ephesians 3:20 (The Message) God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
As one of the conference speakers said, God goes beyond beyond.
Love you dearly,
Mom
- Intermission: I was a bit apprehensive while driving to the Hawaiian Islands Ministries Conference, Greater, this past week. I would be a loner this time, Aunty having decided she could no longer keep up with the walking demands. I had committed early to being a session speaker introducer again regardless, hoping my trigeminal neuralgia would be in check. I packed my lunch and dinner in the big gold Neiman Marcus gift with purchase bag for the day and went about quietly, sitting and listening and eating singularly. Friday especially was long, running sessions from 8:30 am to 9:45 pm. Then it was walking to my car parked at Ala Moana Center and arriving home before 11 pm. For those 3 days I was in a world of my own and enjoying every bit of it, thankful for this intermission from normal.
- Israel on the Horizon? Right after the conference on Saturday I attended Aunty Charlotte's mom's funeral at Hosoi. Our old friends gathered afterwards over the meal to catch up. Randy Furushima, the minister who presided over the service, is a friend we knew long ago from KUC days. On an outing with Charlotte some time ago, both of us had talked about our desire to go to Israel, and she had shared that when her mom passed away, she would be available. We agreed that we would go then, and that we would choose to go with a tour led by Randy, whom we had heard was the best scholarly guide. Our commitment to this future event seemed like one of those "yeah, we'll go someday" thing. But as I sat near Randy that night, I realized that as superfluous as this commitment seemed then, our God had not discounted it. The words Randy began to speak were of plans to invite interested KUCers to go to Israel next February 6-19. For KUCers only, I asked? Don't worry about that, Randy said. There would be an informational meeting this Sunday at KUC. He interjected that this would be his 7th tour to Israel, and he had observed that some wait too long to go, being too frail to walk around the sites, staying on the bus instead of being able to grasp its full experience. Aunty sat across the table from me and said that even though she had gone so long ago, it was the best trip she had ever taken. Go, she urged. I marveled at the timing of this news…at Char's mom's funeral…I would talk to Char later in the week; I hoped she wouldn't be offended by the timing of this news. But there were other important considerations. Would the dates conflict with Jenny's wedding? My first question on arriving home was to confirm the date with Jen…March! Next, a discussion with Dad…he checked how much we had saved so we would know after the info meeting how much more was required; last night he said I should go because there may not be another opportunity. As I write early this morning, I pause to wipe away the tears. Israel had been far on the horizon, one of the few items on my bucket list. And God took it seriously.
As one of the conference speakers said, God goes beyond beyond.
Love you dearly,
Mom