Help // Timing // Mission Field
For those of you who don't know, my husband and I just moved to a new town where we knew no one after nine months of unemployment. If there was one thing this entire experience had taught me it is that there is not shame in asking for help. There is no problem or need too small for God. Often I thought, "They are going through things so much worse than unemployment. They've lost family members. They are going through trials far worse than I have ever gone through. How could I possibly ask them for help?" It hit me like a freight train that the legitimacy of one need does not make others illegitimate. God puts us through trials so that we can cling to Him and stand in unity through Him. While we had no money, we could still comfort people and help them in their loss. For me it was in the form of a job. A friend had just lost their mother and was looking for childcare and we needed money. It was a perfect trade off and exactly what both of us needed. In times of great loss, we should look towards what we have. Whether it is our skills or our assets God provides us with exactly what we need to serve His kingdom and minister to others.
That being said, as much as we have to give, sometimes, we need to receive. We all need times of being ministered to. There is nothing more humbling than receiving and knowing there is absolutely no way you will be able to repay the kindness, but our needs are real. Others needs are real, too. The church was designed to help in times of need. The church was modeled after a man who gave everything with no need to be repaid. Christ died for our sins and expected nothing from us in return. He knew that no amount of good deeds was good enough. In Timothy, Paul writes about coming together in unity. This is how we give and receive. Those who have give, those who need receive. Those who need material possessions as well as spiritual encouragement. We all have something to give and we all have something to receive, we just have to be listening for the Spirit to call us.
After months of receiving, my call is finally to give. And praise the Lord, His timing is perfect. Just as the need arises for money in Texas (something that even 2000 miles away I can give) the Lord blessed is with our first paycheck since November 2016!
Oh, the Lord's timing is perfect! We packed up a moving truck on August 4th. The truck was scheduled to arrive August 10-17. Due to mechanical failures (and some poor logistics) our truck with all our world possessions was scheduled to leave the mechanics in Houston on August 25th, the Friday the Hurricane hit. But, it was fixed a day early and arrived here on Monday!
His timing is perfect. When we received the job offer, the next day the house we are now renting went on the market!
His timing is perfect. There were so many little and moments of perfect timing in association with this job and moving out here. I've always felt like my own timing was so off, but when I am submitting to His will, His timing is perfect.
Here we are now, itching to be back in Houston helping and ministering. Yet, we have peace with where we are because God called us to this mission field. The need is great in the broken world and there will always be somewhere to go be it Africa or Houston. We do not need to go somewhere to serve the Lord. Our mission field is right where we are. That's not to say we shouldn't reach out and help our global community, but being on missions doesn't have to mean any more than leaving your house and your comfort zone.
I lived there for four years and I once called it home, but now I feel so distant from what was once so familiar. They've all gone through something tragic and I can't say "I know what you're going through". I feel helpless being almost 2000 miles away. So I pray continually for their hearts and their healing. I thank God for all the work they are doing.
I write all this as an encouragement. Loss is real and it is powerful, but God is real and He is bigger, more powerful than anything this world can throw at us. My hat is off to you, Texas. You are bigger than the floods. You are stronger than the tides. You are kinder than the storms. Stay united. God bless Texas.
That being said, as much as we have to give, sometimes, we need to receive. We all need times of being ministered to. There is nothing more humbling than receiving and knowing there is absolutely no way you will be able to repay the kindness, but our needs are real. Others needs are real, too. The church was designed to help in times of need. The church was modeled after a man who gave everything with no need to be repaid. Christ died for our sins and expected nothing from us in return. He knew that no amount of good deeds was good enough. In Timothy, Paul writes about coming together in unity. This is how we give and receive. Those who have give, those who need receive. Those who need material possessions as well as spiritual encouragement. We all have something to give and we all have something to receive, we just have to be listening for the Spirit to call us.
After months of receiving, my call is finally to give. And praise the Lord, His timing is perfect. Just as the need arises for money in Texas (something that even 2000 miles away I can give) the Lord blessed is with our first paycheck since November 2016!
Oh, the Lord's timing is perfect! We packed up a moving truck on August 4th. The truck was scheduled to arrive August 10-17. Due to mechanical failures (and some poor logistics) our truck with all our world possessions was scheduled to leave the mechanics in Houston on August 25th, the Friday the Hurricane hit. But, it was fixed a day early and arrived here on Monday!
His timing is perfect. When we received the job offer, the next day the house we are now renting went on the market!
His timing is perfect. There were so many little and moments of perfect timing in association with this job and moving out here. I've always felt like my own timing was so off, but when I am submitting to His will, His timing is perfect.
Here we are now, itching to be back in Houston helping and ministering. Yet, we have peace with where we are because God called us to this mission field. The need is great in the broken world and there will always be somewhere to go be it Africa or Houston. We do not need to go somewhere to serve the Lord. Our mission field is right where we are. That's not to say we shouldn't reach out and help our global community, but being on missions doesn't have to mean any more than leaving your house and your comfort zone.
I lived there for four years and I once called it home, but now I feel so distant from what was once so familiar. They've all gone through something tragic and I can't say "I know what you're going through". I feel helpless being almost 2000 miles away. So I pray continually for their hearts and their healing. I thank God for all the work they are doing.
I write all this as an encouragement. Loss is real and it is powerful, but God is real and He is bigger, more powerful than anything this world can throw at us. My hat is off to you, Texas. You are bigger than the floods. You are stronger than the tides. You are kinder than the storms. Stay united. God bless Texas.
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