You and I are question-askers, stone-turners, explorers.
Sometimes we find the people and places around us fascinating and fulfilling.
Other times we find them anxiety-inducing.
But through some of my own breakdowns turned breakthroughs,
I’ve learned that we don’t have to be intimated by complicated people or situations.
When we allow ourselves to become overwhelmed with the glory and goodness of God,
we’ll be less overwhelmed by the puzzles of the world around us.
As co-writer of The Yes Effect: Accepting God’s Invitation to Transform the World Around You,
I had the chance to travel and interview thirty world changers from all different nations,
people who faced the most impossible situations in the world and lived to tell about it.
Sitting and listening to the breathtaking stories of those fellow followers of Jesus,
I came away with a new courage to face the hard situations in my own life,
and a new understanding of how to discern God’s gentle whisper in a chaotic world.
As a kid, I was always checking under the rug for secret passageways
and scouting hideouts in the neighborhood.
I had a hard time not talking to strangers;
a social introvert from the start.
Now I know myself as an INFP on the Myers-Briggs, which means
I feel people’s feelings,
don’t know how to do small talk,
am great at starting things but not so great at finishing them (idea person!),
and get really excited about new people, places, or experiences.
I thank the Lord for cultivating a love of culture through the
diverse neighborhoods, schools, and churches of my childhood.
In adulthood, I’ve traveled to more than a dozen nations
and befriended internationals through teaching, volunteer work, and regular life in my home city.
Now, my husband and I are on mission to raise our three suburban American kids
to be curious and compassionate citizens of the world.
Exploring the diversity and mystery of this big world God made,
I’ve developed a more reflective and robust faith,
a faith not based on my pedigree,
a faith not based on man-made systems of approaching (or attacking)
the problems of self or the world,
but a faith that finds its assurance in the nearness of God.