Three weeks and counting…

We are discovering very quickly that being a missionary family is not for the faint of heart. We have not even left our home yet and are feeling the full impact on our family tremendously. While we are excited to embrace this new season that God is calling us to, it is not coming without its challenges. We have sold our house, retired from our careers, are in the process of selling and giving away almost everything we own, leaving family and friends behind, and moving to an unknown place. A place where we will need to re-establish ourselves, build up new friends, engage in a new church, learn a new language, and attend school full-time. There is so much to look forward to but there is also a need to mourn the loss of the things we are leaving behind.

The most common question we are asked right now is “How you are doing?” The answer; really, we are doing okay. We have our good days and our tough days, which will continue for some time. Our oldest girls are having the hardest time and are the most aware of what they are leaving behind. Tears flow from their eyes as they battle through the loss of all that they know and try to grasp an understanding of what life will be like in Mexico. Every tear is an opportunity to embrace them, comfort them, reaffirm them, encourage them and share with them that life isn’t always easy. Service to our Lord Jesus comes with difficulties and challenges and each time it gets hard we have to decide if it is worth it. Is it? Is it worth all of this to follow Jesus? Our family’s answer is yes! So, we press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14).

Each day brings things to do in preparation for the move. Every day is a day we need to lean into the Lord for his wisdom, direction, and strength. It is very clear to us that we could not do any of this on our own, we would have thrown in the towel a while ago. Why? Because it’s hard and uncomfortable. The question then becomes what keeps us going? Paul said it best in Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” We believe there are better days ahead, we believe that there are things coming that are going to be the greatest joys of our lives, we believe that God is going to reveal His glory in us. And yes, it is hard, but it’s not worth comparing to what is ahead. We have hope that when we look back, we are going to be so grateful that we went through this, that we gave up everything that we knew and followed the call of God on our lives.

The truth is life is hard. Whether you are leaving all you know behind or you’ve just had a bad day at work, or a tough day with the kids. Life is hard. We need the Lord. We all need the guidance and comfort He alone offers. Being missionaries isn’t for the faint of heart but neither is being a follower of Christ. It’s going to get rocky, it’s going to get tough. The question is will you turn around when it gets hard or will you keep going? What lays ahead for the Christian is far better then what you may be suffering through as the present moment. We encourage you to keep going. Press into the Lord and lean on Him as we do the same. He will carry us through! Make the decision that no matter what comes your way He is worth it! Remember that Jesus made the same decision for us, that we were worth it! He endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him (Hebrews 12:2).