Hey, I get it.
I know I don’t know your story and I know every story isn’t the same.
But I get it.
I come from a broken family.
Family events have never been the easiest.
Questions about which parent will I see for the this holiday is a concern that constantly crosses my mind.
When I signed up for the race, I had little to no expectation for both of my parents to come to join me on the field for Parent Vision Trip.
It was a dream of mine, but I didn’t put much faith into it.
I was used to things being different for me.
Before the race started I began to pray about which parent, if either, I would be inviting to join me.
This ate at me for months because I was afraid to disappoint them.
I didn’t want to have to choose one.
After months of prayer the Lord told me to invite both of them and that he would handle the rest.
Fast forward a few months and both of my parents had purchased their tickets to fly half way around the world to Thailand. Of course I was excited to being seeing my parents, who wouldn’t be after being away for 7 months, but I was scared. This felt like uncharted territory. I didn’t know what to expect.
During a meeting with my squad, I asked if anyone else had divorced parents coming to PVT and the room was silent.
My heart broke. I was alone and once again I was different.
I’ll be honest for a few days I was discouraged. I envisioned everyone having happy reunions with their family and I let fear and my emotions take over.
My squad rallied around me as they had been doing for months and continued to pray for restoration and peace.
And then it hit me, I was lucky.
I needed to stop looking at myself as drawing the short end of the stick.
I was blessed to have the opportunity for both of my parents come on the mission field with me. I was so lucky that they both were willing to spend a week together for me.
This was a huge step.
Going into the week, I still had reservations, but I was trusting in the Lord. I was trusting that his hand was already working.
I’ll be honest. The week wasn’t all butterflies and rainbows, but it was life changing.
There were times that I wished we were one big happy family, but the week held so many celebrations that those desires weren’t even relevant anymore.
My parents spent more time that week together then they had in the last 7 years combined.
In this week we got to worship together, we were able to do ministry together, we laughed together, and we explored together.
If you were to tell me these things years ago, I wouldn’t have believed you.
But, I know one thing for sure, the Lord loves to prove us wrong.
PVT was a week of restoration for me and my parents. PVT was a dream.
PVT taught me that, yes, my family may look different than others around me, but thats okay. Different doesn’t always have to have a bad connotation.
Yes, I come from a divorced family, but this week I learned that we still work. We still can love each other and we can still coexist.
PVT was the last time that I will refer to my family as broken, because we are not.
Nothing remains broken when you allow the Lord to move in it.
So, if you are a racer and you are struggling with what to do about PVT. I challenge you to invite your parents, BOTH of them. It may not be the easiest or the most comfortable at times, but the Lord can do some pretty cool things when you say yes.
Mom and Dad thank you for saying yes to this trip. Thank you for supporting me and loving me always. Thank you for putting your reservations and past aside and allowing the Lord to work. And most of all thank you for making me who I am today.
