The Narrow Path

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14

I’m doing the Kay Arthur Bible study that Lauren’s group is doing at FBC Middleburg, and this morning I read this for the second time. It caught my attention because it reminded me of walking to the nearest metro station. The city has planks of wood set up over some of the muddiest parts of the walkway. They are not easy to walk on, and in the snow they became pretty icy. They are hard for me to balance on, and they are definitely the narrow way, especially in comparison with the space between them and the road, which is quite broad. Especially when people are coming the opposite direction (I haven’t quite figured out the etiquette here), it is very tempting just to hop off and walk on between the planks and the road. However, the mud is unbelievably gooey and sticky there. At best, your pants legs are going to be coated in mud when you get wherever it is you’re going. At worst, you’re going to lose a shoe in the muck and have to limp back home to retrieve another pair (and your dignity). The thing that struck me is that this is very much what Jesus is saying in this passage, isn’t it? The narrow way doesn’t always look inviting, and it certainly isn’t the easier of the two choices. However, those who choose the broad and easier path are very likely to get stuck in the muck. I don’t know about you, but I will gladly take the narrow way…that mud is hard to get out of stuff once it gets on you. Know what I mean?

Things here continue to roll along. I started language study today. My head is going to explode off of my body, but other than that, I think it went pretty well. A big prayer answered is that we really love our language teacher, Irina. She is in our home from 9a.m. to 3p.m., so if we didn’t like her, that would be problematic. She’s wonderful, frankly, and a delight to have in our home. She also speaks Spanish, and even spent two pretty interesting years teaching in Nicaragua immediately following the revolution there. Pretty interesting stuff. It’s amazing how much Russian we can understand, even if there’s little we can say…though I can successfully introduce you to just about everybody in my family, and I can ask you what something is. Other than that, I’m pretty useless right now.

There are some things I think are going pretty well. Language is going well. I think I am adapting and learning how to cook here pretty well. (I made my own tortillas the other night—no kidding!) The homeschooling thing is going okay, too, though John whizzes through everything I have for him in about an hour. Pray for us as we make some decisions about his schooling—we are seriously considering Russian schools for him, even if only for half a day. We’ve got to provide him with something that’s going to challenge him. We are learning our way around the city pretty well. We think we’ve found a church to attend during language training (after that, we hope to start our own house church in our neighborhood). It has a praise band and everything, and a children’s program for John and Han, and even a youth group. It’s pretty missions minded—they just returned from a trip somewhere. We think it’s a good fit, and it’s only a bus and a trolley ride from us, which is closer than anything else. We’ve also made some friends on our team, and we’re really in love with our team. It is the perfect fit for us, and we are thankful to those in charge who decided to put us there.

There are some things that are more difficult. Number one on that list is John’s sleeping patterns, which are still out of whack. I am swiftly becoming that mother who begs and pleads with her child to get in bed, then gives in and lets him sleep between her and her husband. I don’t have to tell you the issue this is causing. Please pray for John-John as he settles into his bed at night. That would be around 1 in the afternoon on the East Coast of the States. We are absolutely desperate for sleep. There have been several nights where we found ourselves still up with him at 1 or 2 in the morning, only to face a full day of homeschooling and language school the next day. Another thing that is difficult is that Hannah does not particularly enjoy homeschooling. She is missing other children desperately. It isn’t like homeschooling in the states, where there are lots of kids to have interaction with at church, etc. She is lonely, I think. Pray that she will make some friends at the new church. We are also looking into sports or choir as a possibility for Han. And finally, I would say that I am struggling with the weather. No matter how often people told me how gray it was here, I don’t think I really understood it. Even now, at 4:30 in the afternoon, it’s getting dark. I miss the sun. I had no idea the grayness would affect me so much. The cold doesn’t bother me, and the snow was lovely, but the gray…I would love to see a sunny day.

For sure, this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It is an awesome adventure, and I couldn’t be here with anyone but Marc, who daily wants to traipse off to discover something new about our neighborhood or the city, for whom this is a daily reminder of how much God loves us, that He would send us here. If I were with someone like me (more introverted), it would be disastrous. We’d sit in the apartment and never leave it. And so, on those days when I think I will scream if I don’t see some sunshine…I have Marc to remind me that God called us here, and so we are equipped to be here. And I find over and over that he’s right. And over and over that His promises are true. And I just remind myself that somewhere out there…the sun is shining. Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye