Perhaps!

I'll be leaving for New Orleans in a matter of hours, and am drawn to an obscure story (which I love) from the book of 1 Samuel. In it, Jonathan goes marching boldly into battle, and says "Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf." Perhaps?!?! If this is true, then it's also true that perhaps things will go horribly wrong and he'll get killed!

Well, this is our fourth time going to New Orleans, and still I feel a bit like Jonathan. There are so many "perhaps"es. Not only are we heading into a city that's still in a lot of disarray, but we're taking our largest team ever (75 students), and when your business is people, you just can't know the outcomes, no matter how many times you've done it before.

All I can do is dive into a big "perhaps"-- I'm acutely aware of many things that could go wrong, and I'm aware that lots of unexpected things will happen. But I'm also aware that, like Jonathan, it's on the other side of "perhaps" where all the glorious possibilities lie, where the Lord acts on our behalf. So it's time to head into the unknown and trust that God will create wonders as we do....

- Paul