Your Entire Life Can Change In A Year
One year ago today Randy and I laid eyes on San Felipe for the very first time. It's hard to believe that so much has happened in only a year's time!
We knew in our hearts during that first visit that this was where we wanted to be, that this was where God was calling us, but a lot of other things had to fall into place first before we could make the move.
If you feel God calling you to make a change, if you know you can't keep going the way you are going, if you feel the urge to do something new or different, whether you are scared or happy or impatient about it, remember to trust the process. This could be the year that everything changes for you!
For 6 months after that first visit, Randy and I prayed and planned in our heads and waited and then jumped with both feet into this new adventure.
We've been living in San Felipe now for more than 3 months. It's been both harder and more wonderful than we could have imagined.
First of all, we feel incredibly useful here. They were in desperate need of an extra set of hands, and we've provided the directors with a much-needed break. We've learned how to do everything from supervise family visits, to taking the kids to the doctor, to organizing clothes for kids ages 2-16.
What we are still learning, however, is how to take care of ourselves and each other. When your job is to take care of everyone else, it can be hard to have anything left in the tank for your marriage. But we continue to remind each other that our marriage is worth fighting for. And that if we aren't taking care of ourselves, we won't be able to give our best to the children.
I think when I felt God's call to this ministry I assumed that I would already have all the skills that this job required. But he didn't give me "share" as my word of the year because I'm good at sharing. He gave me this word because I need to grow in this area. And he didn't call me to this ministry because it would feel easy. There is nothing easy about leaving your family, leaving your home, leaving your financial security. There is nothing easy about counseling a woman who wants to take care of her nephew because her sister is an addict but financially she can't figure out how to make it work. There is nothing easy about seeing cigarette burns on the wrists of a 3-year-old. But all of those hard places are helping me grow, and the more I grow the more I have to share with others.
Randy is much more natural at this than I am. He is a natural giver. When he sees a child struggling with homework, he is the first to sit down and help. When he sees a staff member struggling with a task, he offers a solution. When he sees that I need quality time with him, he takes me for a hike or whisks me away for a 24-hour getaway for my birthday. I learn from him more than anyone else and am forever grateful that God placed him in my life.
We continue to be humbled that God chose us for this work. That God saw in us the potential to pour into these children's lives in a way that would make a positive impact. We have no idea what the next year will look like, but I'm sure it will continue to be more beautiful and more difficult than we can imagine.
We knew in our hearts during that first visit that this was where we wanted to be, that this was where God was calling us, but a lot of other things had to fall into place first before we could make the move.
If you feel God calling you to make a change, if you know you can't keep going the way you are going, if you feel the urge to do something new or different, whether you are scared or happy or impatient about it, remember to trust the process. This could be the year that everything changes for you!
For 6 months after that first visit, Randy and I prayed and planned in our heads and waited and then jumped with both feet into this new adventure.
We've been living in San Felipe now for more than 3 months. It's been both harder and more wonderful than we could have imagined.
First of all, we feel incredibly useful here. They were in desperate need of an extra set of hands, and we've provided the directors with a much-needed break. We've learned how to do everything from supervise family visits, to taking the kids to the doctor, to organizing clothes for kids ages 2-16.
What we are still learning, however, is how to take care of ourselves and each other. When your job is to take care of everyone else, it can be hard to have anything left in the tank for your marriage. But we continue to remind each other that our marriage is worth fighting for. And that if we aren't taking care of ourselves, we won't be able to give our best to the children.
I think when I felt God's call to this ministry I assumed that I would already have all the skills that this job required. But he didn't give me "share" as my word of the year because I'm good at sharing. He gave me this word because I need to grow in this area. And he didn't call me to this ministry because it would feel easy. There is nothing easy about leaving your family, leaving your home, leaving your financial security. There is nothing easy about counseling a woman who wants to take care of her nephew because her sister is an addict but financially she can't figure out how to make it work. There is nothing easy about seeing cigarette burns on the wrists of a 3-year-old. But all of those hard places are helping me grow, and the more I grow the more I have to share with others.
Randy is much more natural at this than I am. He is a natural giver. When he sees a child struggling with homework, he is the first to sit down and help. When he sees a staff member struggling with a task, he offers a solution. When he sees that I need quality time with him, he takes me for a hike or whisks me away for a 24-hour getaway for my birthday. I learn from him more than anyone else and am forever grateful that God placed him in my life.
We continue to be humbled that God chose us for this work. That God saw in us the potential to pour into these children's lives in a way that would make a positive impact. We have no idea what the next year will look like, but I'm sure it will continue to be more beautiful and more difficult than we can imagine.
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