A bigger picture

I’d like to take a brief pause from my Grandpa’s words to give a little bit of history – both into why I’m writing this blog and why much of it is about my Grandpa’s mission in life. As I mentioned in the first blog post (August 10), this has been a big year for me. It’s a year in which God is moving visibly in my life. He’s been preparing me for a long time, but this is a year of action it seems. He's listened to my cries, has been with me through the waiting and now he is opening up a whole new path of my destiny. I'm humbled that such a great and mighty God is not only willing to guide my life, but actually desires to.

The following was written in May, when I went away alone for a weekend with God. I titled it that day – The Intro – knowing it was some sort of an introduction to a piece or pieces of writing, but that’s all I knew. (And honestly, I don’t know much more today...although I now know I have a blog!)

The Intro - May 22, 2010 -- Sometimes I understand that there is a bigger picture and sometimes I don’t. Right now, I do. I’m sitting in a hotel room overlooking the harbor in Duluth, Minnesota. The sun is streaming through these windows and falling over the hot tub. A large steamer ship cruised by an hour ago, and seagulls are circling and dipping over the water, casting strobe-like shadows in my peripheral vision. My life at this moment is calm. It is easy, and I’m at peace. Yet as I sit here wondering what restaurant I will walk to in a little while, as my stomach is beginning to feel empty, I realize that this one “moment” of my life is pivotal. I will leave this place tomorrow, never to be the same again. (And really, when is that ever not true? Are we ever the same from one moment to the next?)

Back in 1907 my Grandpa Revne experienced a similar day in Norway, although his surroundings were far different from mine. He did not have a hot tub in his room. There was no flat screen TV sitting above a gas fireplace, and no netbook resting on his lap connecting him with the world. Yet make no mistake: he was no less connected to the world. His heart was being pulled to a place far away. He didn’t know where exactly that world was, what exactly he would be doing there, and he certainly didn’t know the results. What he did know was the one speaking to his heart, and that made the answer relatively easy, even though he knew he would be walking a difficult path.

That’s sort of where I am today. As I type these words in 2010, more than one hundred years from my grandpa’s “similar” day, I can’t begin to explain to you how connected I feel to him. And this feeling is despite the fact that I hardly knew him. He died when I was five years old. I have only sketchy memories of him from the year before he died when he lived with us for a few months after coming back to the U.S. from Africa. Yes, Africa... That’s where his heart was being pulled. It was his home for more than 40 years, and it’s a connection we share today.

My grandpa dedicated his life so people in Africa could know the one true God. (You may or may not believe there’s only one true God. Nevertheless, whether or not you believe is irrelevant right now.) It’s the same God that has called me to write his story. And when God speaks to a heart that’s been asking and listening, there’s no question what the appropriate response should be. So I’m saying yes to a call, and beginning this journey. And whoever you are that is reading this, make no mistake – there is a reason.

That's what I wrote back in May...before I had a blog...

"Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the Lord." Psalm 107:43 (NLT)

Always,
Annie