Satisfied with my Zip Code

A few weeks ago, Chris attended church while we girls stayed home feeling poorly.  During the service, our pastors handed out stars.  They had previously and prayerfully collected words that they wrote on paper stars which were laminated and then passed out to the members of the congregation who were willing to take one.  There were no lightning bolts that magically appeared directing members to a star nor were there spotlights that shone on the star that was meant for you ... you just took one.  The prayer was that the word would have significance for you.  For my Chris, it did.  The word:  satisfaction.

As we capture our imaginations about what moving back to the U.S. looks like, it usually involves a sense of being dissatisfied.  On paper, when one has lived overseas in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, moving to the center of the Bible belt seems - no offense - a letdown.  Being rated among the best-rated cities for overall quality of life in the entire world - Vienna - Norman, Oklahoma seems like a far inferior place to put down roots.  I can say all of this because Norman is my home.

A feeling of being unsatisfied with the future - in our future "home" - in our future normal - has visited us too many times to count.  We've projected ourselves into the future, lacking proper coffee, places in which to sip it, and places in which to be left alone or visit for hours with another human while sipping it.

And then the word:  satisfaction.

Years ago, my dearest kindred spirit had a son who was sent to Iraq.  Months before his deployment, her imaginations were all over the place.  A mothers' heart in unrest plotting what "could" be before his feet ever traversed difficult soil.  Then, she got a word.  It wasn't on a laminated star.  It came from a place of quiet, in her spirit, from a loving God.  In a nano-second, she was at peace and satisfied with her reality and the reality of her son.  Her son would be just as safe in a foreign, hostile land as he would be in a local 7-11 in his hometown.  God was both places.  He would protect him ... no matter where he was.

Just as my friends' word brought her imaginations under submission to a greater force that reminded her of whom is really in charge of protection, our word has reminded us that God will be our satisfaction ... no matter where we are.  Coffee may taste different but it doesn't mean we will experience deficit because of our location.  The condition of the heart, in total obedience, is what sets the stage for satisfaction.  When I yield to the One who directs my paths and makes me lie down in really good, green, pastures, what I see with my eyes doesn't define me.  My zip code is not relevant.  Where my heart is ... is.

My zip code will change.  For that, I am - satisfied,
Christina