spark

Today's highlight was talking to my friend, J, who just got back from Indonesia where she was exploring a partnership relationship with a YWAM mission base in/near Bali. J and I talk pretty regularly, usually about the kids, the house, the challenges of parenting, the cravings for time and sleep and breaks. She works hard, and gives a lot in her roles as mother, wife, friend. Today there was a spark in her voice, an energy I haven't heard for a while. She'd just had eight days to give of herself as a primary health care educator, a missionary, an independent woman (more to the point, a woman without dependents) in a location that inspired her, mind, body and soul. She made meaningful connections with new people, walked on the beach every morning, ate fabulous Indonesian food, checked out the basics of the neighbourhood with a view to taking her family there for a longer term stay. Her enthusiasm was infectious. It got me thinking about going to Indonesia myself. The spark she found in Indonesia seems to have lit a fire in me...