Not really a China post.

This has been a hard week for our family.  We are dealing with some decisions and none of them are easy.  We have good support from good people.  But life feels very serious right now.
My husband has been seriously ill this week. He started feeling ill on Sunday evening and was awake for three nights.  Wednesday he went to the international clinic and was diagnosed with diverticulitis and peritonitis.  So far   it's been treated with heavy antibiotics but he has been in considerable pain and  is fatigued.  He promised to blog about his experience in the hospital later.
People often think that the things that stress you the most are cultural differences.  That can be true.  In this land of the only indulged child,  there can be unbelievable rudeness.  I was standing in line at the market the other day and two girls pushed ahead of me to buy their drinks.  They saw me, they looked at me and they did it anyway.  That kind of thing can be enraging.
But really, the things that make you tired are the ordinary.  It's caring for a teenager and a baby. Okay, maybe that isn't so common.  It's sickness, it's running out of milk, it's lack of sleep and so on.
So today, I feel tired and a little blue.  I read the Book of Common Prayer Evening Compline and it comforted my soul with its beautiful words and profound meaning.
Part of the reading was from the Psalms
Psalm 107:1-32
¹Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

²Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy,

³And gathered out of the lands,
From the east and from the west, 
From the north and from the south. 

⁴They wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way;
They found no city to dwell in.

⁵Hungry and thirsty,
Their soul fainted in them.

⁶Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
And He delivered them out of their distresses.

⁷And He led them forth by the right way,
That they might go to a city for a dwelling place.

⁸Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

⁹For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness. 


That is one of my favorite verses in the Bible and He has proved it over and over to me.  No matter how dark today is, He will be faithful.