I’ve said in previous posts that the Frozen II songs are the soundtrack of this year for me. It’s crazy how each phase of this season is exemplified by a song from that soundtrack! Am I the only one who thinks this?!? Maybe, but that’s ok, because I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, God speaks to me through Disney movies!
A little over a year ago I decided that “Into the Unknown” was going to be the theme song of the year for me as I decided to go to the Global Mercy instead of back to my home on the AFM. Little did I know how deeply into the unknown I was about to be plunged when COVID hit and I had to suddenly leave our country as well as many friends and go into quarantine for 81 days onboard before I flew back to the USA.
That anthem transitioned for me from “Into the Unknown” to “The Next Right Thing” in the fall. I was so deep into the unknown as my return date changed from October to January to April, that all I could do was the next right thing which was just in front of me. For the majority of this “forced sabbatical” year I’ve only had a plan for about two weeks at a time so it was really a matter of living each day where I was and being ok not knowing what was coming next. I just needed to do the next right thing and walk where God led.
Well, clearly we’re passed April now and I’m still here in the USA so I’m still just doing the next right thing, but at the same time I’m settling into a new phase of this season and a new anthem. At the beginning of the movie, Anna sings a song called, “Some Things Never Change” and she sings about how, even as the seasons are constantly changing around her, some things stay the same. Later on in the movie Olaf comments, “You said some things never change, but since then, everything has done nothing but change.” I feel you, Olaf! Since last March it certainly seems that everything has done nothing but change. My brother-in-law asks me every couple of weeks what the plan is and every time he asks, it seems that I have something different to tell him. Even I get confused trying to remember and relay to him what the current plan is. A week ago I received the news that everything was changing again:
-The ship I’m going back to has changed
-The grade I will be teaching might change
-The country I’m going back to has changed
I don’t feel ready to share the details yet because if I share them, they very well may change again, but I’ll get back to you on that. I am hoping to head back to the AFM after the summer and I’ll share more as things get finalized.
The thing about everything changing all the time is that is brings into focus the things that don’t. Anna is right, some things never change. God’s love doesn’t change. God’s provision for me doesn’t change. My desire to serve with Mercy Ships hasn’t changed. My tears of joy and sadness when I hear songs like Waka Waka or Jabulani Africa haven’t changed. The drive of everyone in this organization to get back to Africa hasn’t changed.
We’ll get there. I may not know what country I’ll be in, or when I will fly, or which ship I’ll be on, or what I’ll be teaching exactly, but it’s good to know that in the midst of all that, some things never change.
