Preparation for the Journey

The journey of seeing one’s faith deepen comes in many different ways. For most of us it seems to take an inciting incident that snatches us from our comfort, redirects our lives and gives us need to trust God as never before. Health turns bad and there doesn’t seem to be answers, a marriage hits an incredibly rocky spot, mid-life arrives with a sense of failure, a move to a new location brings isolation, loss of jobs ignites fear, children struggle and you seem hopeless to help, the senior years cause anxiety to set in, a lifetime of accumulating things suddenly no longer satisfy, and on and on it goes. Whatever the incident, the need for renewed faith arises.

Our faith journey took on new proportions when I resigned from a fifteen year ministry position with no clarity about the future. Diana and I sensed God leading us to trust Him not only for missions support but for daily living expenses as well. While we would share God’s direction of our lives, we would not ask for finances. Instead, we would pray and trust God for the outcome. It wasn’t an impulsive decision, but one we had thought about for months. It wasn’t without real life examples but one my grandparents had modeled. Nor was it an expectation for others but was our personal leading.

Over time we gained some helpful insights about living in faith. One of those is that the Lord is a gentle shepherd and compassionately prepares us for what lies ahead. Moses had a wilderness and so did Paul. Elisha had Elijah. David had intimate times in the fields before he was on the run from Saul. The Israelites had the miracles of Egypt and at the Red Sea. Each was a preparation to serve as a reminder of what God was capable of doing.

Before we settled on Mexico we considered a mission that provides pastors for small community churches throughout the US and Canada. Diana and I went to Kansas City for a week of candidate orientation while the kids stayed in West Virginia to have a hey day with Mamaw Harer. Our days were squeezed full of activities from morning to night, but we did manage to connect in friendship with a couple from Washington and another from Alaska. On Friday evening we were asked the all important question, “Has God called you to work with us?” Our answer was “No.” We drove back across country at loose ends.

A few weeks later on a warm spring day just before my job at the church ended, our friends from Alaska called. We had kept in touch, and it was good to hear his voice. “We sold our house in Alaska, and got more for it than we expected. Our family would like to give you $1000 for whatever needs you might have.” Dumbfounded I somehow managed to get out a “thank you.” God was assuring our hearts that He is absolutely trustworthy and was preparing us for the journey that lay ahead.