The Good Life

I have two dream lives.

The one life I dream of is overseas, serving along side my husband on the mission field. There will be no matching dishes, expensive artwork on the walls, no fancy cars or comfy leather couches. Instead we will live with the poor and eat strange foods. We will trust God and fully depend on Him in order to pay our bills. People will drive us crazy. There will be a lot of giving and not much taking. It's a dream of an exciting and challenging adventure that seems to be where God is leading me....some day.....yes, it's a dream.

The other life I dream of is completely different. It's a big, beautiful house with the latest dishes, modern art on the red walls, and an SUV full of kids. It's freshly baked cookies in the oven, a pool in the backyard, and lots of lunch dates with friends, shopping, and exotic vacations.

How can I have two such drastic dreams for my future life? I told a friend that, and he said, "Kate, I think those two both fit your personality pretty well. Good luck finding a way to have both." Thanks. It's true though. I love both things. And this summer (this month, actually) I'm getting to experience both.

I just returned from a wonderful vacation to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina where I went sailing, ate a nice restaurants, listened to live music at the Harbour, went to a Jazz Corner, rode miles and miles on bikes, slept in, laid on the beach, swam in the warm Atlantic, and just enjoyed not having any responsibilities. It was all about me and relaxing and having fun...which I did a lot of! I didn't really spend a whole lot of time with God though. I praised Him for His beautiful creations, but I wasn't hungry for Him.

I hope that being in India (in two weeks!) will cause me to starve for Him; I want to only be satisfied by Him. In India, I think I'm going to be hungry a lot (I really depend on food for energy, and I'm hungry all the time as it is....eating spicey Indian food is going to be a real challenge). Maybe that is where God will truly be my supply. I think God's calling me to a life that is more like the dream I'll experience in India than in Hilton Head. He's got a plan.

It's always good to be reminded that God dreams bigger dreams for me than I can dream for myself.