A 4 Month Recap- From My Perspective

We heard the calling in February from God to radically change our lives.

The Lord said “give back.”

I replied “give back?? I’m a husband, father, firefighter, city council member, business owner and a man of God. What do you want from me??”

He said, “Look at that list! The one listed last should be first.”

I felt like I truly was trying to be a man of God in all aspects of my life. But he continued to say “Surrender it all and I will show you the way! Sell everything and move on the road using your gifts and talents to further the kingdom!”

 

In early spring we asked a good friend of ours to help us get the house ready to list. We started purging excess, big things, small things, things that drive, things that float, and even fishing things! Let’s also squeeze in a mission trip to Georgia! Our desire for the call on our lives was reignited! We made lasting connections with other families, specifically for me, other men of God that has become a source of encouragement and accountability. We returned home to my dad passing away two days later. The numbness that came after that was overwhelming. I completely shut down. All of the support from friends and family was what got me through the first weeks.

 

As we began the process of becoming missionaries, we went from the one income I provided, to no income, to Sarah working more than I was. I’ve had to adjust from 50 to 60 hour work weeks, to being a full time stay at home dad. We completely dismantled our life, trying to completely surrender to God’s will for our lives. We have repeatedly prayed “We surrender our finances, our house and our stuff to you Lord. May your will be done!”

 

The Lord is faithful and heard our prayers. Our bills have been paid, not all on time but paid nonetheless. When things seemed bleak, He provided a small job here or there. Or we would sell something and it would always cover the next immediate expense. There were even times we gave something away that could have been sold for cash but the joy of seeing that item be used as a blessing for someone else was priceless.

 

As we penciled out a tentative timeline for what the next six months would look like, we started scheduling all the appointments to make sure everyone was in tip top shape before leaving the state. Dentists, physicals, eye exams, dermatology consults, sleep studies you name it. I have been battling knee pain for years, nature of the beast when you work physically laborious jobs. I have been told for years that surgery was in my imminent future, but never had the time off of work to rehab the procedure so I kept pushing it off. I went in for another consult anticipating yet another steroid injection, when I came across a new doctor I had never met or heard of before. However, he knew all about me, my family and our story. I have no idea how, except that this man believed he could help restore my knees without surgery! He had even been a missionary himself! It was a divine appointment and just one example of how God has showed his goodness to me during this fruitful but challenging season of refinement. I want to testify that after six weeks of physical therapy, I was able to run for the first time with my kids in over three years! Now I’m actually excited about a men’s Xtreme Character Challenge at the end of next month that is physically, mentally and emotionally demanding as I feel like physically, I may be able to actually keep up! Stay tuned!

 

Just as I was feeling stronger with my knees and we had been making great progress clearing out the house, 3 weeks ago, BOOM, just like that, my back goes out. The daunting to do list is overwhelming and now I’m forced to ask for help. We posted an SOS on social media and the help showed up. To all the friends and family that came, we can not thank you enough for coming to the rescue!

We pushed through the back pain, exhaustion and fed up kids so everything was done for closing. Last night we got home late and went to bed. When I got up this morning I braced myself, ready for the painful start of the day. As I stretched, POP! my lower back realigns! Instant relief!

My first thought was, why did God allow me to endure such pain? Then I realized, that if I wasn’t hurt, I wouldn’t have asked for help.

 

We feel so blessed and humbled that we got to spend time with many people who we haven’t seen in a while, as they came along side of us and helped any way they could. These past several months have been a roller coaster of emotions, physical and mental stressors and ultimately a display of God’s goodness, provision and steadfastness.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Roman’s 8:28