Threads of Life

Life has often been compared to a weaving in progress, of which we only see bits and pieces from the bottom and at times it seems ugly and mixed up and the colors all wrong. Every now and then, though, we get a glimpse of the top, of the pattern that is slowly emerging. Sometimes, if we are patient enough, we can run our hands over the texture. If we are still long enough, it may dawn on us that we can contribute to the pattern. We can make choices. But to do that we need to know who we are.

I just read some inspiring lines by Elizabeth O'Connor -

You cannot surrender to God a self you do not know. This was surely in the design of community, that we might find ourselves in the mirror of that community. As we share the common life, one unredeemed area after another comes to light. The joy of involvement is interwoven with the pain of it.

This rather sums up the journey of my soul the past few years, understanding a bit more of who I am and seeing that mirrored in community. I feel as if layers of my soul have been uncovered, opening myself to both pain and deeper joy. But I am speaking abstractly and it is time to tell you about yet another change coming into our lives. It looks as if we will soon not be the Millers in Mymensingh but the Millers in Dhaka instead. Our boys have all been accepted in a well known international school in Dhaka and we feel it is time for them to be able to interact with children of their own ages. We have all enjoyed our months in Mymensingh, as well as our years of home schooling and it has been a hard decision to make. We have all been able to visit the school and the boys have been jumping with excitement over the prospect. School begins in August and our goal is to be moved by then, so we are searching for a suitable apartment and trying not to be overwhelmed by all that needs to be done! Austin will still be in Mymensingh several days a week and plans to work from Dhaka the other days. I will be helping with the guest house and am looking forward to be more involved in hosting. In many ways it is a long time dream being fulfilled for me, though I must say I never expected it to be in Dhaka!

When we made the decision to move to Bangladesh, I felt as if I were putting my dreams on hold and the "weaving" looked very distorted. Now I feel as if I've been given a glimpse of a rather beautiful pattern, with some of my favorite colors woven in.