God's Restoring Grace
I want to thank so many of you for the prayers you offered, and the encouraging notes you sent after my February newsletter, in which I shared the struggles I had been experiencing over the previous months. God heard your prayers, and I was overwhelmed with many personal messages of encouragement.
Soon after sending that update, I attended a "Grace Week" retreat in the mountains outside of Tokyo. It was an intense week of speakers who covered topics such as the gravity of our sin, and the immeasurable grace of our Father. (If you are familiar with "Sonship," this is essentially the same thing.) God used the week to bring much needed spiritual refreshment. I have been especially impacted by the question of whether my spiritual goal is for personal resolutions of doing better, or for the Holy Spirit to transform my heart. I am convicted that I all too often strive to change myself -- a battle one can never win.
The retreat also gave me a better perspective of the problems facing me and our missionary team. There is truth to the adage that "misery loves company." Just knowing that I am not alone in experiencing difficulties does give me some relief! Additionally, hearing the struggles of others showed me that my own struggles, while legitimate, are not all that serious. I'm not going through divorce. Our team is not dealing with heresy or scandal, etc.
As for problems on the team, some of these have been removed through the departure of a hired staff member, and a team member who also left the team. I wish that reconciliation would have been possible, or that it may yet come, but that is not always possible in a fallen world. And yet God is faithful, even when broken people cannot always be united.
Please do pray for all the members of our team -- those still with us, and those who have left -- that God will bring about reconciliation and use even our struggles for His glory and the salvation of Japanese people here in Osaka.
