thoughts from a mom
It’s hard to get used to being a family of 5 when you’ve always been 6…to seeing a cold, lonely Kia Sportage everyday in the driveway….and especially to celebrating this past Thanksgiving weekend with my husband’s entire family (18 of us) in the Smokey Mountains with one special person missing…we even left a space in the cousin photo to “photoshop” her in!
That’s what it feels like…that there is a piece missing all the time. No getting used to Regan being gone with a slow transition like college, just bam, she’s on the other side of the world with no physical contact. One of the hardest things for me is thinking about how she is missing almost an entire year of her brothers’ lives (ages 14, 12 and 10).
However, I can honestly say that it is truly worth it. She is doing what we have tried to instill in her growing up: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and Love your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:27) (yes, our neighbor can be in India!) Her dad and I can clearly see how serving overseas has been God’s path for her since an early age and how he has opened the doors to make this possible. The path may not be as clear for every World Racer, but He did open the doors for each of our children and that gives me faith, hope and joy each day to know she is walking with God by her side—even if I can’t be beside her.
I sense Regan growing stronger in all areas of her life through this experience. She is maturing, becoming more of a leader and her faith is growing daily. We’ve spent our time teaching Regan to love Jesus, and I can tell already that when she comes home, the roles will be reversed and we will be learning from her how to walk closer with the Lord. She is learning how to worship God freely, how to hear His voice more clearly, the power of prayer and healing and the reality of spiritual warfare…a very real thing.
I appreciate so much how Adventures in Missions has equipped and poured into not only our children, but parents as well. The challenge and encouragement to not be in the same place spiritually when your child returns is priceless and challenges me daily. This is not just Regan’s mission experience, but ours also. I pray that I am not standing still and am stretching myself daily for more of what God has for me. It has been hard to watch the ministry treat the racers as adults, when I wasn’t ready for Regan to grow up quite so fast, but this has also been invaluable.
What I wish and pray for Regan and her siblings—more than safety, security, wealth, happiness, and anything else our time on Earth can give us—is that they each continue to walk and live on the hope of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Nothing can take that away from us in this world or eternity. I will continue to hold onto that promise as I wait to hug our little Regadoo!
