A Perfect Place

I am so glad to be back in Beirut! That sentence causes some of my friends to raise an eyebrow in question. I mean, Beirut is not perfect.

For example, the water here is not drinkable - not even the locals drink it! The electricity shuts off twice a day. (How can a country the size of New Jersey not produce 24-hour power?) So we use bottled water and share a generator with our neighbors. I'm not glad to be in Beirut because its perfect, but because it is the perfect place for our family now.

A few years ago a friend prayed for our children that God would make His steps large before them so they would always find themselves in the center of His will. Matt and I began to pray that for ourselves and for our friends and partners ever since. As we go through life, we make decisions - these either bring us along the path God has designed or push us away from that perfect place.

How do we find our perfect place? Is it hard? It may seem like it is because so many people spend years searching, but not finding. The path to the perfect place though is clearly marked out in God's Word. By being a doer of God's Word in our everyday life we can move from wherever we are to the center of God's will. That's victory - because it means no one can prevent us from making progress!

When asked, "How did you know you were supposed to move to Beirut?", we always answer, "By volunteering in our local church." Today, I can say I'm in the perfect place for our family because, as a family, we said, "yes" when our church asked us to serve. I don't mean they came and asked us personally - we didn't wait for that. We looked for opportunities and needs that we could fill. Sometimes that was mowing grass, stocking shelves, working with kids, giving money to a project, and many other things.

Putting ourselves to work in our local church meant that the next steps God had for us became large and obvious before us. Things may not always be easy, but I can testify that God can move you from wherever you are right in Your Perfect Place. Start now - make yourself recklessly available to what God is doing with the intention of making His dream come true. Watch as He makes your dreams come true.