Better Together.

I'm beginning again.

Re-establishing a home. Bracing myself in the challenge. Finding my footing.

Starting fresh is full of possibility, but it's not easy. There is no 'user guide'. It's overwhelming. It's stressful. Sometimes I wonder how I'm ever going to get through. The unhurried rodents in my apartment taunt me with the fear that I am not cut out for this.

The Loulous taught me a lesson this week: Two are better than one.

We went for a mission exploration adventure on Tuesday and as the kids and I trekked up the hill, we all watched in awe as the two girls branched ahead of the group. They had their little arms wrapped around each other and the words they spoke could only be heard by each other. Without saying a word, they demonstrated that they truly love each other. They need each other. They are better together.

It wasn't long after this that I realized how I too have been blessed to experience this same kind of partnership... Like when the Hope House kids offer to teach me creole, when my voice blends with the songs of friends as we lift up praises in a desolate village, when Rachel shares her supper and we scream through the drama of Prison Break, when I receive a late night e-mail from home.

It's the prayers, the laughter, the songs, the heart-to-hearts. The reminders that we're all in this together. So even when the road seems long and the mountains high, I'm thankful that I'm not in it alone. Thank you Jesus for the hope that comes in the face of a friend. Thank you that we're your people and we're better together.