Who Walks Beside Me?

         Peoplemay plan all kinds of things, but the Lord's will is going to be done. (Proverbs19:21, Good News Translation)

I know I’ve written about this before, butnow that I have finally returned from my dream trip to Cambodia, I felt I hadto share this one more time.

I first learned about the temples atAngkor Wat when I was in sixth grade—fifty years ago. I was mesmerized, andthough the dream wasn’t always at the forefront of my mind, I knew that somedayI had to go there.

Flash forward to January of 2020. On awhim, I googled volunteer trips to Cambodia and came across the culturalimmersion trip for grown-ups over age 50 with Projects Abroad. I sent theinformation to my friend Denise, and it didn’t take her long to get back to mewith a big smiley face. She was game, and after a little more research, wesigned up.

Then COVID-19 hit, and we had to cancel.

The fall of 2021 held potential, but thepandemic was still causing enough uncertainty and inconvenience, so we canceledthe trip a second time.

The following year, COVID-19 had abatedenough that it was safe to travel, but my daughter wanted to return to Kenya,so Denise and I joined her.

It looked like 2023 would finally be myyear until my back went out in April, and the rest of my body fell apart afterthat. We canceled just weeks before our intended departure.

Ahh, 2024! Fourth time is apparently thecharm.

I had been thinking that God simply didn’twant me to go to Cambodia. And I get that—this wasn’t going to be a volunteertrip, mostly just a vacation to an almost entirely Buddhist country. Therewould be no Sunday morning Christian church service and certainly no sharing ofthe Gospel (not that God has blessed me with that gift!).

Would my fascination with all the Buddhistand Hindu temples lead me spiritually astray?

The answer is that no, it did not. Quitethe opposite. This fantastic trip reminded me that I serve an amazing God whowill never leave me or forsake me. For some reason, God wanted me to completemy dream trip this year and not any other.

And as you will see as I continue bloggingabout this trip, He walked beside me every day.

Andthe Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you; He will notleave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” (Deuteronomy 31:8, NewKing James Version)