I wanted to get this entry to you two days ago... It seemed topically fitting to look back on the past year on New Year's Eve, but I have kids and I have come to the conclusion that means nothing happens exactly like you plan it and you're usually late to, well, everything. So Happy 2nd day of the New Year!
Here in Iowa, the snow seems to be coming in droves. A few months ago, we kept hearing that the Farmer's Almanac predicted 100 inches of snow this winter. Both Kyle and I were a little skeptical since the last couple of winters have been really cold but lacking snow. I think we are believers now!
Which reminds me, you know what Christmas song I hate? "Baby it's cold outside." You know that one where the creepy guy can't take "no" for an answer and despite the shame she feels, the girl sticks around for 'a cigarette more'???
Yeah, that one. (Sorry for the judgmental tone- the song just seems super seedy to me!)
I'm pretty sure there are a billion versions of it (even one featuring Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog I think) and it's played incessantly at the mall (drives me nuts!) It's no wonder it's the song that comes to mind as I watch the snow fall outside ('Cause it's burned into my brain!) and think about how comforting it is to be inside, protected and warm.
We rest in God's embrace while life happens.
Ironically enough, that's also how I feel about the year as I look back on it. Not that it drives me nuts, but rather that feeling of comfort as we rest in God's embrace while life happens.
Looking back, I can see God's faithfulness evident in our family, and in ministry. What do I mean by that exactly? His faithfulness? 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 describes how when we become believers God begins to work on us, changing who we are into His likeness. For example, God loves perfectly. As he changes us we begin to love others better more and more. Of course there is so much more to it than that. But the whole process is so mysterious and more complicated than I can pen! For who can know the mind of God and how He works exactly, right? (Romans 11:34 if you're interested.) What we do know about God is that He is committed to keeping the promise that He will complete us into the beautifully whole people He intended before painful sin marred us. He is faithful.
And while this work is in progress we can see evidence of it happening in the good things in our lives (and sometimes, in the bad.) The Omaha Doorly Zoo in Nebraska (it's become an old stomping ground for us now) is doing a massive overhaul to create this incredible African Safari that is due for completion in summer 2016. When they first announced it two years ago when we were new to that zoo, it seemed like it would be forever before it was done! Then we started seeing evidence that stuff was happening- they closed off part of the zoo, animals were moved, a building went up here or there, a train tour took us inside the new enclosures still under construction, the Giraffe enclosure was finished... It really looks like the zoo update will be complete this summer. God has promised that He will complete the good work He has begun and in the meantime, in ministry, Kyle and I try to keep our eyes open and hearts tuned in to the evidences of His faithfulness to do just that, not just in ourselves but also in others.
We feel like we have seen God's faithfulness in one of the quieter season's of youth ministry this year-the summer. It was a blessing to have our first intern join Kyle in teaching and helping lead. The mentorship aspect of having an intern for him was also a joy, as they worked through the details of lesson preparation and ministry troubleshooting. We both really enjoy training others who are coming up in ministry and mentoring others in general.
For that reason, in the fall of 2014, when an opportunity to lead a Bible Study series that our pastor created based on his sermon series arose, we jumped at the chance to create a group for young adults and young married couples. Well, something about the details of who the group was for got eschewed on the announcement (nothing's an accident in God's plans though!) and we didn't end up with young couples at all. However, God definitely had in mind who he wanted in this group and three young women, who did not go to our church and did not know each other showed up. All three were teachers from two different schools. Then, somehow two other young women (also teachers, and from two more different schools) starting coming shortly after. There are small connecting threads in the story behind it all that these ladies have told me, but those threads are so God-ordained I have a hard time re-telling them in their proper order. Essentially, it blows my mind how this group somehow ended up at my house every other week to read God's word and pray for each other! Only God.
Now a year and a half later, we still meet and these women (who, having newly relocated themselves for their jobs, had no friends in the area) are all besties. We have done four Bible studies together, gone to a hockey game, eaten octopus, cried a lot (not because of the octopus!), prayed a lot (maybe because of the octopus!), and they have given me the opportunity to not only pour myself into their lives but also to cook for them twice a month! And I LOVE IT!! This has been God's faithfulness in my life because I am learning that though teenagers are not my forté, I love ministering to young adults. And though I might just be getting in the loop on that, God has a known it all along.
Watching students grow in their love for others because of their love for God is definitely evidence that God is at work in their lives!
Meanwhile Kyle took a group of students on a trip to Kansas City to participate in the EFCA's Bridging Urban Mission Partnerships (BUMP). BUMP trips allow students to minister alongside other EFCA churches in Urban contexts, allowing them to cross cultural and socioeconomic boundaries without leaving the States. Kyle said he saw God's faithfulness in the student's response to this challenge. As they grew in understanding of the difficulties many face right in their back yard they responded in gentleness and kindness to the children and others they spent time with daily. Watching students grow in their love for others because of their love for God is definitely evidence that God is at work in their lives!
Finally, I have been humbled and honored by God's work in my life this year. Still adjusting to the life of a stay-at-home mom and all that that means, I, admittedly, struggled with purposefulness. Pouring your life into your children is no small task and it is wrought with meaningfulness- a labor that I believe is just as (if not more) worthwhile than any ministry position! And while God worked on my heart this year to realize that, it still ached for something more/different/else (not sure of the word exactly, but it ached for it.) I read in Lysa Terkherst's book, "Becoming More than a Good Bible Study Girl" the following quote and it resounded so deeply with how I was feeling early this year,
"Do you feel a tug at your heart to live completely with God, but still uncertain about pursuing it? Why not ask God to reveal Himself to you in the coming days and confirm what He has for you? The adventure that follows just might blow you away."
My prayer that night was that God would direct my life and that I would be faithful to follow His leading. Weeks later, I had the opportunity to answer some questions on the topic of justice that would be used in a magazine called the EFCA Today. After answering the questions, the editor asked me if I would write a full article for the mag. So I did. And then I got to write another one. And then because of the first article I wrote, I got a call for another writing opportunity. And it was incredibly fulfilling to get to write! But what was even more incredible was that God took something that I have loved to do my whole life (and just left sitting like an old book on the shelf), and open the doors to use it. Now I feel like I am on this journey, like I know at least a piece of the direction I want to go in and that is evidence of God's faithfulness to complete the work He has started in me.
This coming year, we are going to try again for a young marrieds group (because we know there are some incredible couples/families in our church and community that we are dying to get to know!), I am going to pursue the writing thing and keep loving my sweet kiddos (and maybe plan a mission trip or two!) and Kyle has lots of God given opportunities too. He is helping with the EFCA Central District's 'Impact' conference, Winter Blast, and taking students to Challenge, another EFCA student conference. That being said, I don't know exactly what is in store for 2016.
"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps." (Proverbs 16:9)
This past year has obviously been full of unexpected twists and turns. But through it all and through the coming months, God was and is and we can expect that He will be faithful, no matter what. May we focus our eyes on the evidences of that faithfulness as we march on into 2016.
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