Semper Fi, sis!

God never stops amazing me. He never stops awing me with His extraordinary love. I cannot remember a time in my years as a Believer when I have needed a gift of encouragement that He has not delivered...and often in the most impressive and unexplainable ways.
Stephi (my twin sister -thats her in the pink, me in blue) and her two children just left after a two month visit. Now most people would roll over and die if a relative came and stayed for two months. But Stephi is more than a relative and her children are more to me than someone else's kids. In Zambian culture, they would be considered my own children -ever as much as their birth mother's. And truly, they are the son and daughter of my heart if not my body. And Stephi, well...my kindred spirit, my greatest encourager...and being a fellow Believer makes our relationship all the more close and precious.
Thats why I was so happy when she came out to stay. It was another one of those big gifts from God, when I most needed it. In the middle of Mark's deployment, it was as if the Lord said "Here, let me ease the burden a while. Let me lift your spirits and send someone to share the load." And He did. Within a few days, we were working together like a well oiled machine. Two Moms...our kids couldn't get away with anything! And what was better -we did everything alike. So there were no squabbles about child-rearing, household rules, even what meals to cook or how to sort the laundry. And both being female, we were able to use most of our 25,000 words a day on eachother! (ok, studies show that women need to use up that many words a day to satisfy their craving for communication -my husband can vouch that its true!)
Homeschooling was enriched as we took all six kids on field trips - things I wouldn't have done alone. And Stephanie being Stephanie she was out and about making friends as soon as she set foot on the base. Of course she left a lot of people pretty confused...they probably think I have a split personality now.
The most precious thing...our prayer times together...and times when we would just sit in the stillness of the morning, before the kids were awake, and read our bibles quietly together. Until one of us had to speak (those 25,000 words a day, you know!) and we could share from the heart what God was teaching us and what He was doing in our lives.
Having Stephi here made the last two months more than bearable, they were good. So when we got the news that her husband (also Mark -I know I know!) got orders to go with a Marine Corp unit in Japan (he's also a military Chaplain now, just finishing his training)...well, it was bittersweet for me. Somehow I harbored a hope that they would get somewhere close to us here on the west coast -maybe Pendelton or San Diego. But it was not the best. Japan is the best. I know that because I know that my God is good. So I will not question it. I know that God has a gift in it for Stephi.
So she and the kids left yesterday. Gone to pack their household goods, wait for Mark to finish training, and fly to Japan. Now I could cry about this ,and I am a little (a lot)sad, and bemoan the reality that I won't see her again for a long time. Or I can embrace the truth that God has given me a gift when I most needed it...because He loves me.
And who knows, maybe one day the guys will be on the same deployment cycle and we'll do it again...

"You thrill me, Lord, with all You have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done." Psalm 92:4