If you look at our picture, you probably don’t see many similarities between the two of us.
But we share a story that not many get to share, that not many have the opportunity to walk and flourish through. We want to tell you that story together, the story of the faithfulness of our Father in Heaven, whose love reached depths we would have never known had we not walked the last year with Him.
Nathan and I were both passionately following our call to missions when we were told that we needed to spend some time with the Lord before launching on our World Race journeys. We were sent home from the same training camp, with similar action steps and a whole lot of feelings but we didn’t know one another.
Separately, we walked through incredibly dark months of sadness and hurt. We walked in moments of despair and anger, rage and such deep sadness. But that’s not the story we want to tell.
We want to tell you the part of the story that shows you how we never walked alone. The part of the story that gets overlooked and unseen.
I have long viewed this journey of coming back to the World Race like walking through a trench. I felt like I was walking from one place to another, knee deep in muck. Sure, there was embankment, other options for what I could do with my life but the other side of the trench was where God was. That place is where He was calling me to! So, that’s where I wanted to be. So Nathan and I both walked in the trench, never alone, towards what we believed God was calling us to. Along the way, we met provision, support, and one another!
He orchestrated a phenomenal squad who uplifted us when we were tired and weary, a team who speaks life into our darkness and residing fears of not being enough. He invited us to grow deeper with Him in community, in faith, and in life. Walking back into our WR journeys after our times of hiatus, we were met with faithfulness upon provision upon faithfulness. We have watched thousands of dollars be poured over us. We have watched countless people join us in prayer for our journeys. We have watched God open every door that needed to be opened, with kindness and a gentle, “After you, beloved” whispered over us! God is with us, even in the trenches.
Nathan and I, walking onto the plane leaving for Month 1 a few days ago, walked into our promise land! We have watched our trenches turned into goodness! We have watched our struggles turn into triumph. We have made it to the other side, and looking back now, made every single step worth it and more.
Maybe our stories weren’t exactly how we anticipated. Maybe the journey here was uncomfortable and jarring, but the fruits here on other side of the trench… How faithful He is. How good!
“So take courage my heart
Stay steadfast my soul
He’s in the waiting
He’s in the waiting
And hold onto your hope
As your triumph unfolds
He’s never failing
He’s never failing.”
Shauna Niequist writes,”…..What I can do is offer myself, wholehearted and present, to walk with the people I love through the fear and the mess. That’s all any of us can do. That’s what we’re here for.”
Maybe all that we can ask of ourselves is to be open to the trench, to the mountain, to the pit that we find ourselves in. Invite God into that space and see His goodness and faithfulness pour out, even there.
With Love,
Melissa (and Nathan!)
