Making a case for the hard choices

My precious babies. Love them.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

Let me start by saying this: This isn't what my life at 42 is supposed to be. First of all, by now I should be a principal of some school. I should live in a house. I should be on the praise team at my church, singing every week with my friends. I should be visiting colleges with Sarah Beth. I should be with my Mom and Daddy. That's what my life should look like at 42, according to the plans I made for myself way back when. Of course, my life looks nothing like that. I'm not a principal of any school. I volunteer at the local international school by teaching 10th grade English until their regular teacher makes it to Prague. I volunteer at my church by teaching English to preschoolers. I live in an apartment that isn't mine. I definitely don't sing on the praise team at church. In fact, I struggle to understand 50-60% of what goes on at my church. In the 2+ years since I left my home church, the only time I've sung in public was at Bella Notte at the kids' school last fall. I did not get to visit colleges with Sarah Beth, and I'll barely be back in the States in time to take her to college next summer. And though I saw my Daddy last Christmas, when he came to visit us in Moscow, I haven't seen my Momma in 2 years. Yep...life has definitely not turned out the way I planned.

Lest you think this is my version of a pity party, let me tell you that all of those things were my own choice. I chose to come to Europe. I chose to learn another language. I chose to leave my parents. I chose to leave my home church. I chose to leave my job. No one forced me to do any of those things. I chose all of them. We could go to an international church here in Prague (lots and lots of English speakers here), but we choose to go to Russian church. Not because it's the easier choice, but because it's the right choice for us. I long for and miss Russia very, very much, but I know that Prague is the right choice for us right now.

So why would I make these choices, which seem to go against the grain of everything I thought I wanted for myself and my family? Simple. The call of God is unavoidable. It's compelling. He's nothing if not persistent. Beyond His sacrifice of His own son, His grace and mercy and overwhelming love for me compel me to obedience. And obedience, for right now, means that we are often faced with the choice of what's good and what's best. None of the things I mentioned above are bad things. They were all part of the ministry I had in the States. And I firmly believe that if I'd stayed there, continuing in those things, God would have blessed them as He had for years. But I would have missed out on having a front-row seat for the display of God's miraculous nature that I've had since coming here. I would have missed out on knowing Him the way I know Him. The work here would certainly have gone on and prospered without me, but my life would be less, somehow...less than what it's supposed to be. Less than I was created to be. Less.

And so, this morning I am making a case for the hard choices. Make one choice today that you know He's asking you to make, and then watch what happens. I promise you the blessings will come. Not financial, and certainly not ease of life, but something far greater--you'll know Him more. You'll trust Him more. It doesn't mean the hard choices will get easier--that hasn't been my experience--but it does mean that you will, more and more, become the person God created you to be. That doesn't mean that He'll call you overseas, so don't panic. It also doesn't mean that what is God's best for you is God's best for someone else, so don't get too wrapped up in what other people should do, because that's probably not any of your business. (For my family, I'm channeling Miss Louise--take care of yourself, and you've got a mighty big job to do.) But it does mean that it's probably time to talk to the guy in the next desk about your faith, or the neighbor, or the kid in homeroom with you.

On a totally separate note, the leader of our company announced his retirement yesterday. Our company is infinitely better because we've been led for the last 17 years by Jerry and Bobbye Rankin, faithful folks who are the embodiment of servant leadership. My favorite story about "Uncle Jerry," as he's affectionately known among those who work with us, is that early in our training he came for a three-day session on spiritual warfare. In the middle of his first day there, he was taking questions, and he pointed to someone at the next table from us, calling him by name. At first, nobody thought anything of that, because we all had nametags. But you could feel the shock spread across the room as we all, one by one, realized that the young man who had asked the question wasn't wearing his tag. Dr. Rankin knew his name because he'd prayed for him. He'd prayed for all of us. We knew then that he was someone worth following, because it was clear who he was following. We are sad at the thought of not having the Rankins at work on behalf of the millions of people who don't know Christ, but I am confident that God will continue to use them in significant and amazing ways.

Wherever you are in the world, I challenge you to make the hard choice today, and I hope your husband is coming home from Russia, too! Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye