The Oath

So here we are at the end of our journey. Tomorrow we board a flight (OK so we board 3 different flights but who's counting at this point) to come home and we are very excited. In the background as I type this there are giggles in two different octaves coming from two different little mouths that had never met each other just 10 days ago. Now they are giggling and touching feet as if they've known each other for years. God is Good. We took "The Oath" this afternoon at the United States Consulate Office in downtown Guangzhou. Basically all this is is a formality whereby you swear that everything you have said or done, verbally or in writing, throughout this entire process has been truthful to the best of your knowledge. While it is a formality in this case, I can't help but wonder though (as I too often do) what is the lesson to be learned by this. What if each of us had an oath that we were required to take at the end of each day, swearing that all that we had said and all that we had done was truthful and honorable? If I'm honest with myself, I have to admit that I'd never pass this oath on most days, and they certainly would not trust me to influence the life of a young child, let alone multiple. But the truth is, each day we start over anew. Each day we get a clean slate, and lots of new opportunities to either support or reject that which we claim on the outside to be. I'm reminded of the lyrics of a song by Casting Crowns. It goes like this:

Lord I give my life
A living sacrifice
To reach a world in need
To be Your hands and feet

So may the words I say
And the things I do
Make my lifesong sing
Bring a smile to You

Let my lifesong sing to You
Let my lifesong sing to You
I want to sign Your name to the end of this day
Knowing that my heart was true
Let my lifesong sing to You

I hope that over the course of this journey (which began long before we stepped on an airplane) our Lifesong has been pleasing to God. My guess is that some days have been more so than others. But tomorrow is a new day. Tomorrow marks the ending of a long journey, and the beginning of another. It represents an opportunity to seek and to follow where He will lead us next. As we begin this next chapter in our lives as a family of 5, my hope and my prayer is this: May the words we say, And the things we do, Make our lifesong sing, Bring a smile to You. We want to sign Your name to the end of each day Knowing that our hearts were true. Lord, Let our lifesong sing to You.

Love,
The 3 Muskateers signing off from China one last time