1st Corinthians 7:5 says, "Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control."
This month is officially “manistry month.” The men and women have a separate ministry and location. You may be asking a similar question we did. What do married couples do during this time? Do they separate? Do they stay together? The announcement of this was a definite discouragement at first. Are they serious? It’s month 9! We are tired. We have pushed and poured out for 8 months straight, and now they expect us to have to deal with this?
After throwing my own personal pity party about how unnatural and strange it is for married couples to be separated for a month, I began to feel the Lord’s gentle tug on my heart. While we both agreed that an entire month is a little long, could we take part in this at some level? I felt deep in my heart that I needed to do this. This was a challenge that was in front of me and it would be up to me to accept or deny. Would I be willing to risk my comfort and own desires to have a season of sole dependence on the Lord for those very things? Am I willing to sacrifice my entitlement to be with my husband to spend time with the women of my squad, loving them, getting to know their hearts, and sharing mine? Agreeing to separate went against my flesh in so many ways, but an overwhelming peace upon me was confirmation enough.
So here we are. I am staying at a hostel in Antigua working with a ministry called New Generations with 20 girls and more estrogen I’ve been exposed to since college. Marriage somehow seems to blur the lines of men and women that are so defined otherwise, and I find myself being surprised by simple living habits that are so very “feminine!”
John Michael is staying in Puerto Barrios with the ten men of our squad. To be honest, I’m not quite sure what his ministry is! I know they will be visiting local hospitals to pray for patients, but that’s as far as I’ve heard. It feels odd to not even know what he’s doing right now, but that’s all a part of this. We have differing schedules with broken cell phone and Internet communication. I’m sure you’ll hear more from him!
We will remain with the men and women for the first two weeks of this month. At that point, John Michael, along with Chris, (Chris and Amanda are the other married couple on our squad) will travel back to Antigua to spend the remainder of the month here. We will spend time being a couple and finding our own place in the ministry here.
The longest we’ve been apart in our married life is three days, so two full weeks with little to no communication will certainly be a challenge. I am ready, though. The Lord gave me the word ready for this year and he is continuously fulfilling his promise. The peace I’ve felt about this time is evidence of Him preparing my heart. He has reminded me that during this time He can have my WHOLE heart. I will look to him for the comfort and affirmation I so often turn to John Michael to receive.
I plan to spend this time, as 1st Corinthians tells us, devoted to prayer. I want to use this time to seek the Lord with all I have, to pray earnestly for John Michael and his time with the Lord and men, and to grow with the women I have been surrounded as well as blessed by. Will you pray for us as we accept this challenge?
