Now,
looking back to our pre-Lomalinda days in Seattle, I see the ways God gently,
lovingly persuaded me to be willing to relocate there.
I
was scared—so scared—of living in a remote location in a strange-to-me land.
Terrified.
Filled
with cold-sweat dread.
So
scared I couldn’t think rationally about “Fear not” and “believe” and “I can do
all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
The
unknowns were unnerving. So God set out to change some of my unknowns into
something a little more known—a little more familiar.
I’m
so grateful God didn’t lose patience with me. In His gentle grace, He prepared
me ahead of time by, among other things, leading me to the public library where
I studied the geography, culture, climate, politics, and agriculture of the
place I’d soon call home. God used that information to shine light in the
darkness—Colombia no longer seemed like such a black hole.
And
He led me to books Wycliffe missionaries had written and magazines Wycliffe had published. Stories are powerful. Through those stories, I delved into the hearts
and minds and faith and experiences of those who had taken wild-eyed leaps of
faith into other-worldly realms (both physically and spiritually).
They
were spunky folks, using ingenuity and creativity to make a life for themselves
and their families.
At
times they lived with hardships most of us can’t imagine.
Sometimes
they faced terrors.
They
chose to live with courage. Tenacity.
They
chose to live sacrificially. Faithfully.
As
I read, something started shining off the pages of those books and magazines. I
beheld those men’s and women’s love of God, their love of His calling, their
sense of purpose and fulfillment.
Little
by little, through those stories, God helped me take a steady look into the
mysterious, dark unknown of Lomalinda.
God
helped me contemplate doing the unthinkable by breaking my panic-stricken fears
into small pieces.
Through
other people’s stories, He acquainted me with specific coping mechanisms I
could apply to my own situation.
By
walking alongside those people within their stories, God showed me what living
by faith means.
And
that made all the difference. By getting me accustomed to the idea of living in
Lomalinda, He also increased my willingness to move there.
As
Lysa Terkeurst once said, “There’s this beautiful thing called imperfect
progress . . . slow steps of progress wrapped in grace.”
And
when I arrived in Lomalinda, on my shaky, wobbly, mystifying, discouraging
first few days, I would do well to remember how God prepared me ahead of time
to live there. How good He was to do that for me!
God
does “prepare His people for works of service” (Ephesians 4:12).
Sometimes
it’s astounding to recognize—or at least begin to grasp—that we are God’s
workmanship, that He has created specific things for us to do, and that He
prepares them in advance (Ephesians 2:10).
He
prepares things for us to do,
and
then He prepares us to carry them out.
He
offers us an abundant life.
Give
thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
His
love endures forever.
1
Chronicles 16:34
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