Obedience

I guess this is an appropriate place in the journey for me to take a minute and say thank you. Ryan and I owe a big thank you to so many of you who have helped along the way.  The prayers, phone calls, blog comments, e-mails, and gifts have simply been overwhelming.  The encouragement we've received has been sustaining at many of the toughest points.  So, we simply say thank you.

Which leads me to my next thought, which is simply to offer encouragement to all of you.  I don't know where many of you are in your lives.  But I simply want to say this.  Whatever it is the Lord is asking you to do in your life, please listen.   Let me tell you why I feel I have to say that.

I truly thought I might be losing my mind when the Lord called us on this journey.  We had 4 beautiful, healthy children. The possibilities of ministry within our own church and community were countless, and we were plenty tired with what we were already doing.  I knew that people would think we were crazy when we shared the news.  And they did.  Even some of our closest, most committed Christian friends needed a moment to process the idea.  

I personally worried that this might keep us from "real ministry."  The time and energy we would need to give to the process and then to the child would take away from what we were already doing.  Every time God has called me to minister to my family, I have worried that others would not hear because I was focusing on my own family first.  But I am here to tell you today that when you are obedient, God will be faithful.  He will, he just will!

When I felt God leading me to begin this blog shortly after we started the process, I thought, "Okay Lord, but who on Earth will read it?"  Have you seen the ticker?  Someone is reading it.  I know this because almost everyday for the last 6 weeks, I have gotten an e-mail from someone I've never met introducing themselves and often asking for some sort of advice or sharing their story of where they are.  We have folks on 4 continents and across the US that are following our journey.  The Lord has given us a circle of influence we never could have imagined or asked for, ever.  We are humbled and overwhelmed not just by what God is doing IN our family, but what God is doing through our family.

So, moms, if "all" you are doing today is changing diapers and making bottles, do it as unto the Lord.  Dads, if "all" you are doing is punching a clock and showing up for dinner with the family, do it as unto the Lord.  I have learned, in some small way, that anything we do, if done with obedience and faithfulness, will lead us to the next small thing, and before you know it, all the small things will matter and you will begin to see people of character being influenced by your obedience.  And it is one of the most delightful things you can fathom this side of heaven.