My Prayer as I go to Cambodia

Today is my last full day in Europe before going to Cambodia. It has been an amazing trip and I today I have decided that rather than cram in a lot of last things to see and do I will instead just spend the day with George and Liz Weber at the Scotsgrove House. They are a wonderful couple (married 45 years) and their home feels like home to me. (They have lived here for 30 years and the house is approximately 900 years old.) This morning I walked out to the "Christmas Coppice (Grove)" with George. It is a grove of almost 100 trees - including 7 apple trees of various varieties and a walnut tree. George told me that one Christmas when his two children were young that they wanted to do something special as a family and so they woke up early and together they planted almost 100 trees - they worked all the way up until supper time. Now the trees are tall and mature, but the apple trees are so productive that the branches are weighted down. And so, this morning I had the honor of working out in the Christmas Coppice thinning the fruit from the trees. I found this time to be very peaceful and reflective. We then had lunch together (Scotsgrove House is not really a "Bed and Breakfast"; it is a "Bed and Breakfast and Lunch and Dinner") and then Liz took me to meet her daughter and son-in-law; and then to the "bookie" who also handles the "allotment", which is similar to the weekly portioning of what we would call a pea patch or community-supported agriculture in the USA. The other benefit of staying low-key today is that it affords me a quiet environment to really seek God in preparation for this move to Cambodia.

Here is the prayer that I wrote today:

Heavenly Father,

I pray for You to fill my heart with love; for indeed, You are Love

Make my hands gentle yet with a steady grip; and may they only always be extended in peace

Give my eyes discernment to see truth, but where there are dark clouds and ugliness to also see through to hope and light

May I always seek first to do Your will and to give You glory

Amen

On this trip I have also been moved by the writings of John Piper. I am thankful for the wisdom that he has been given and shared. One of the themes in his writing that has really moved me is that mercy flows from glorifying God. We often think of God as a merciful God and certainly He is, but as John points out through Scripture God is primarily about being glorified. Also, we (or at least I) have thought of the second coming as being God coming to retrieve His Believers to Heaven, but again Scripture states that it is first about us marveling at and glorifying Him.

I am ready.