Some Things Never Get Easier

Some things NEVER get easier...or at least it seems that way!

As of July 2, 2015, my family and I completed two years of teaching, missions, and relationship building in Taiwan. We loved the people we met and those with whom we worked. We even enjoyed the majority of the crazy cultural differences and experiences we had. We only moved back to the United States for two reasons #1 God's calling and #2 so our baby girl could be closer to her grandparents.

We prayed and prayed and sought God's guidance on what He would have us to do when we returned. He faithfully answered us, and He provided this amazing opportunity to minister to university students--just twenty minutes away from my husband's mom! We had a job and a place to live/minister all before we even set foot back on American soil. It was all perfect...until it wasn't :(

After moving into the dorm and having an amazing first month at our new ministry, things unexpectedly ended. (Let me tell you that I hate politics--workplace or otherwise!) Suddenly, we questioned God's calling. Had we heard Him correctly? Did we misunderstand? Why had this happened to us? We started off so strong and now we were jobless, homeless, and confused. What should we do next?

Well here we go again!

In my experience, it seems like it never gets easier to listen and trust God. Especially when I am in a situation like the one we are in now. It's so much easier to trust and have faith when you are snug as a bug where you think God wants you to be, but it's so much harder in the struggle. The ironic thing is that is when it really matters! I know this is something that I am still learning, and I may never master it until the day I die but I'm trying.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." ESV

Join me in making a conscious choice to trust God today--even if your circumstances don't make sense right now. Choosing to trust God above our own reasoning and common sense can be difficult--don't get me wrong God gave you a brain for a reason--but sometimes God wants us to do things that don't make any sense in our rationale and sometimes those can be the most rewarding things of all!

Take Heart

Lately it’s been day after day of stress, pain, and heartache. Things are out of control and seem utterly hopeless. Over time I have become heartsick. Have you ever had days where you just can’t seem to see the end of your problems? That’s where I am right now.


So what do you do when you are heartsick?

I think there are only two options: give up or fight.

Giving up is easy. You just shut down mentally, physically, and/or emotionally. You don’t care anymore. You simply give up. Now it’s someone else’s problem so who cares what the outcome is going to be.

Fighting is the hardest thing to do. You have to make a constant choice to keep up the good fight. What do you do when you don’t think that you can stand it even one more second? Paul gives us the answer in Ephesians 613-14a “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm…” As Christians we are called to trust and obey. We all know the song…Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. It’s true. We must trust that God will bring us through and we have to obey Him by daily putting on the armor of God and standing firm against the enemy.

So what’s the problem?

The problem is that we are weak and we are human. Too often we trust in ourselves rather than trusting in God. We obey our desires rather than seeking the heart of God. We give up instead of standing and fighting until we can’t fight anymore and then keep going. Just because you have given up or failed in the past doesn’t mean that you have to keep doing that. Break the pattern. Trust God. Be more than a conqueror. Take heart.

“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” Isaiah 40:29

God won’t leave you to fight on your own. He will give you strength. Yes, it is difficult. Yes, you are walking a fine line between giving up and finding the determination to continue. Yes, sometimes we all fall. Yes, God will pick you back up!

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm…” Ephesians 6:13-14a