mission

“A Christian’s response to God is never trivial.” -Kevin Wilson

This was the takeaway from our church’s sermon this past week. It really stirred in my heart some thoughts on life and mission and God’s work in the world. When living in Africa, it often seemed like I was doing something, even if I was just answering my door to needy neighbors, or rocking an orphan baby. I often felt overwhelmed at the thought that I was very rarely “off the radar” while we lived there, but at the same time, it gave me a sense of purpose, if even in my own head.

Sometimes my days in America can seem quite mundane. We’re home a lot, and we don’t have anyone except the amazon guy coming to the door most of the time. My kids get bogged down by “just doing school” every day. Does it all matter?

But if we take this notion of our response to God never being trivial, then we also would deduce that nothing we do, even in our own homes, when we may be so called “off the radar,” does not matter. Recently, I heard someone in our homeschool co-op urging her students to consider how they live with virtue every day. Do they pray for their parents and siblings? Do they consider how they bless the people in their home? Do they discern what media they consume based on what God would want them to take into their minds and hearts? I thought this was so wise. I could consider it in my own life too. Am I moving about through my days thinking most of what I do or say doesn’t really matter? Do I think my faithfulness to God only matters in the bigger things, like serving him on a mission trip across the world?

It can be overwhelming to think about all the needs in the world, and how God wants me to respond to him when my day to day tasks take up a lot of my time. I can’t do it all. I can’t fix all the hurt, or even make a dent really. Maybe it is actually not about my work for God, but it’s about His work that is always going on, whether in my home or across the world. To contemplate what it means to be faithful and obedient to the Lord in my life is what is really important, moment by moment. I can often think I might know how someone else can be faithful and obedient, but do I really remember that that is not my job? Though I believe I can be brutally honest with the Lord about my desires for those I love, it is for them to discern how God is leading them and what they need to do to obey Him.

So how am I responding to God? When I’m reminded about his sovereignty and the way he will always work things together for good for those who love him and are called to him, I can respond by really, really trusting him. I can trust him with my day to day. I can trust him with my kids and their decisions. I can trust him in the now and in the not yet. He is working in the mundane, he is working. And He is good, all the time.

There have been many blessings on both sides of the ocean for our family. We are so grateful for these last seven years serving with WGM, and at Tenwek Hospital. We are mostly grateful for the amazing people we have been able to know and serve beside. We now know godly people in many places around the globe who are using what God has given them to share His love with the nations. It’s a beautiful thing how God does that. By his Spirit he leads his children in his will. We have had many “divine appointments” through the connections we’ve made on multiple continents. God is so faithful.

We are now entering a new season. We’ve been back in the United States for about 6 months. We are still very much in the ups and downs of transition, getting used to life here and establishing some roots again in community. After much prayer and discernment we have decided to resign from full-time missions work with World Gospel Mission. We tried to see if we could stay on and still do short-term assignments, but logistically it just wasn’t what was right for us at this time. We hope to continue doing short-term trips, and will likely do that mostly through Triad Pediatrics Foundation.

Our biggest missions venture is to our family and our kids. We would love your prayers for wisdom in parenting and connection in marriage, and for us all to know & remember the Lord’s great Love every day. His mercies never come to an end! We will be launching one son to college next year, Lord willing, and then one the year after that. Pray for them to be clearly led by God into their next season, wherever that may be.

We very much still desire to live our lives on mission. Please pray for us to know how to continue ministry to kids and families both locally and globally.

If you have been following our journey all along, thank you so much! If you have been supporting us financially and/or prayerfully, thank you SO much! You have upheld us in many ways! We hope to continue to write and update this blog as we can, and as the Lord leads. For now, I will just say that though our missions journey has not been easy, it has been so rewarding. We grieve the things we are leaving behind in no longer being considered “long-term,” but we also are excited about the future and what God will do in and through our family, for His glory.

The Joy of Easter is real and it is wonderful. The hope that we have because Jesus our Savior came to earth, lived a sinless life that we never could, and took on all our sins on the cross to make us holy and righteous… That should give us all immense peace and joy. But I confess that I don’t live in that joy every day like I want to. There was a prayer of confession led by a dear friend at our Easter service this morning. It really struck me, so I wanted to share it here.

“Loving God, we confess that at times we do not share in the joy of the resurrection but are caught in the worries of this world. We confess that we do not always live in the spirit of new life, but remain discontent, grumbling and anxious. Forgive us for not sharing in the Good News. Forgive us when we find it more comfortable to worry and complain than to risk the joy and encouragement of new life in Christ. Call us back to Your ways, O God, to seek hope and reconciliation, restoration and peace. In the name of the Risen Christ we pray. Amen.”

Happy Easter. The LORD is Risen indeed!