Kiev

Ah, Kiev. The sights and sounds of being in a foreign land did my heart good. Memories of being overseas prior to illness filled my soul and I was happy. Everything from sidewalk vendors with little old Ukrainian ladies selling brightly colored fruits and vegetables to the smell of cat urine in apartment hallways made my heart smile. They were all a part of embracing a life overseas. The negative was that my knee started hurting after only short amounts of walking and we walked everywhere. There was one day we walked and walked throughout the day and tears threatened as I went from happiness to being overseas to sadness over my current state and lamented over the old me that could walk around carefree. I would look around me and see thousands of people walking around without a thought for their legs and for a moment, all I could see was the unfairness of it all. I wanted healing from this more than healing from my blood disease. If God had not healed me from my blood disease I’d be in Heaven, but to walk around in pain all the time and feel the weight of holding people up…in the midst of pain it all seemed too overwhelming. Later, when we returned to where we were staying and I had time to be quiet before the Lord I was encouraged by Psalm 121.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains –
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of Heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip –
He who watches over you will not slumber;
Indeed, He who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you –
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm-
He will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.