I cannot believe we are entering out final month on the field overseas! It is insane to think that one month from today will be…..yes,THANKSGIVING, BUT ALSO the day Faith and Austin land in California! Back to the motherland.
We are beyond excited to bring life to the cliche saying that “the end is only the beginning”, which is true for us! We are super excited to bring to life the visions that the Lord has placed on our hearts and enter into more of a “rooted” season.
The Lord opened my eyes to the past few years where I would read all the letters Paul wrote to these different people and I wanted to be the “Paul”- GOING & DOING etc…but more often than not, we are the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and so on. We are the ones being given the Word and guidance and we are the ones who need to listen and apply! So, all of that to say, we are excited to, in a way “settle”, and get rooted in community and further the Kingdom in this way! We recognize the difference between being comfortable and complacent. We have a loving Father Who wants to bless us and being comfortable is not always a bad thing. Now, if that’s your sole purpose in life and a goal to be comfortable you may be disappointed at times because “comfort” is not always promised. So again- comfort- not bad, but becoming complacent-not good. We want to proactive as we transition back into what we feel the Lord calling us to.
So bringing to back to what I actually wanted to share- I went off a tangent, but wanted to share more of where we are!
Go…Grow…or Groan…
Over this year we have experienced a lot of different situation. We have been beyond blessed, we have been stressed, and at times we have been a hot mess. The incredible thing in these times is that we have a choice! I was studying a devotional the other day and it laid out the options of “grow or groan” and I added “go”.
I added “go” because I have seen this play out in my journey at times. You can choose to simply “go” through the motions and stay stagnant…not hot, not cold….just there. That is a very easy option to choose. Its not threatening and there is no real immediate consequence, if any. You just stay the same.
I have learned that through the ups and downs, exciting and mundane, we should always choose to recognize that we have the opportunity to GROW and learn.
Learning to GROW is essential because we obviously know that the other options is groan. Does groaning ever help anything? I am pretty confident that if we all took time to think about times we have “groaned” and then asked ourselves “did that help anything?” the answer would more than likely be….NO. I could be wrong, I hope I am not. I know a good honest vent every now and then does a world of good, the important thing I believe is consistency. Do you consistently groan or choose to grow?
The amazing thing about growth is looking at the comparison to a seed. A seed has everything inside of it that is essential for its growth. There are usually external factors that aid it in growing though too. Water, sunlight, and sometimes something needs to die in order for something new to grow.
Lets look at water. Water can come from a blessing of a much needed rain shower! It can also come in the form of a storm, something unwanted and scary, but nonetheless an opportunity to grow. Or it can come from the water bucket of a loving gardener. He has planted this seed and spends the time on this seed to watch it grow.
I say it again I have experienced everyone of these scenarios over this year. I have seen myself simply “go” through the motions, no real up or down just surviving. I have groaned at times when things did not go my way or as I expected (Im pretty sure Ive written about how expectations can be unhealthy…if not ask me!) and I have seen myself GROW- which one of these things do you think I will hold onto the most?
Growth has come in many different forms over my life. It is interesting to see the various forms, but what they all have in common is me choosing how I want to respond to them.
I proclaim and am excited to share my year of GROWTH with you all as we return. Please continue to pray for us as we finish up this last month. Pray for growth in us. Pray that we experience the Lord in some exciting new ways and pray that we trust the Lord as we enter into this new season. We are asking the Lord to provide in a few different ways as we transition back.
Feel free to ask any questions you may have that have not been answered already! We would love to prepare our hearts for them and you all!
