Sunday, December 21, 2003

Rebecca's Journey - 39

Dear Friends,

Greetings, and Season's Greetings, from Belgium!

Rebecca has been in her new room for just over a week now, and is enjoying it thoroughly. The house is decorated for Christmas; Josi is here; Susannah, Phillip, and David arrived last Friday; Matthew and Stephanie arrive Christmas eve. We're looking forward to celebrating Christmas together.

From Rebecca: "Josi (our Swedish Angel come to help) recently returned from an international gathering in London. As we sat at the dinner table on her first night back, she began speaking about a friend of ours there in London who talked about his recent experience. The Lord had spoken to him to choose life and not death, blessing and not cursing. Josi went on and shared about the rest of the retreat, but 'choosing life' kept echoing in my mind. The next morning when Judy came down, I shared it with her. She remembered a teaching that Derek Prince had done years ago from Deuteronomy 30. We turned to it, and read together, weeping. I realized that through these recent years I had never chosen life, and that God was setting life before me to choose. As we prayed, I chose life and blessing! The next evening, Josi and I were reading a Scripture chosen randomly from my prayer quilt to read before going to bed. Ps. 118: 17: "I will not die, but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done." I couldn't believe it! Surely the Lord was confirming my choice.

The next day I received a card from a dear friend in Lexington. In her card, she told a story of a rose. She said she had planted 3 rose bushes outside of her kitchen window. She had named the white one 'Rebecca'. The frost came, and so she went to the window expecting to see all of the roses frozen. Two of them were. But 'Rebecca' was still blooming. Two more frosts later, 'Rebecca' had budded and bloomed again before finally succumbing to winter's blast. She said it was so amazing that she had to write to me, because 'Rebecca' just kept on living.

I had to write this to you because I feel like it is a milestone in our journey. The next week, I was invited to a friend's anniversary party. As we dressed to go out to be with people in this context, away from the home, for the first time, I knew I was choosing life. It was difficult, and yet it was a delightful evening. The next week was the European Prayer Breakfast. We were invited to a lovely dinner party the evening before the for the hors d'ouvres. It was a most lovely evening. As I sat that evening amidst precious friends who were so blessed to have me with them again, I chose life. I knew it was a new day.

And now I'm in my new room. I have windows on two sides out to the garden (back yard in the USA). Our children are here to celebrate the blessed birth of our Savior together. How many opportunities each day do we have to choose life, instead of death, to choose His blessing instead of cursing.

Dt. 30: 19-20: 'I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now, choose life, so that you and your children may live, and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. For the Lord is your life.' "

We all want to wish you a most blessed and Happy Christmas.

Our love, in Him,

Paul