Susan LaffertyEarly in my adolescent years, my mother remarked that if Dad said the sky was blue, I would say it was green. This exchange stands out in my mind. Although I most likely protested (duh), inside I knew she was right. Maturity glossed over that stubbornness as I grew, yet pride still hovered close to the surface.
I was 29 when I married Todd and 33 when our first child was born. Suddenly a lot of “set in my ways” was unset and upset. Then we arrived in Pakistan in 1992.
“Be strong and courageous.” The message is repeated over and over to Joshua. And to me.
We stepped off the train from Jaipur at 11 p.m. in New Delhi and joined a moving river of fellow travelers. It was August 2009. The air was thick with heat and dust. The stench of garbage and urine hit full force.
I struggled to breathe.
All of us were streaming through and around various groups camped out in the train station, walking past dusty forms of men, women, and children asleep on the ground or on benches. The masses flowed up metal stairs and crossed the tracks on a walkway overhead.
Our family of five tried to keep up, pulling and lifting our suitcases, attempting to stay together.
“Of all the places you’ve lived, which one is your favorite?”
It was a casual conversation and a question I’ve been asked many times. Impossible to answer.
So I said the usual: “There’s something special about each one.” But over the next days I reflected on the significance of place in our lives. What is it that lodges a certain location in our hearts and minds?
And I began to notice place in God’s Word.