Coming Home

Coming Home....
Have you read the book "The Way Home" by Mary Pride? How about the sequel "All the Way Home"? These books were such a great encouragement to me many years ago when we were trying to "rationalize" why I should leave a great paying job and come home. Beside scripture, these books, Elisabeth Elliot's radio broadcast and personal encouragement to follow God's calling from a wonderful Godly older lady all had the effect of helping us make our decision to make major life changes. We thought that the biggest challenge we had was financial. But in reality, there was a challenge greater than that one. It was the challenge to give GOD control. Submit to HIS will. Trust HIM to be the Provider for all of us. Not listen to all of the relatives and friends who scolded and shunned and ridiculed us for making a God-filled decision but keep our eyes firmly planted on HIM! Hard times financially just solidified our marriage in a wonderful new way, kept us in close relationship with our Lord, built up our faith and trust in Him and His Word in a way we had never known was possible. If we had not had such hard financial times we would have missed millions of priceless blessings. We would have missed turning a rocky, hang-on-by-the-thread marriage into a wonderful one. We would have missed getting to know our children, teach them the Truth of God's Word, watching them grow into wonderful young adults. We would have missed being used by God in ways we never imagined, tying together relatives and strangers and friends literally across the world as we shared in the joys and trials of many both here and in foreign countries. We would not have allowed God to show us HE could provide our son's college costs without our help, HE could provide food for our table when there was no money in the bank, HE could provide enough to pay for tuition for Seminary for several dear children of God who are like our own children. As long as we had money, we had not allowed HIM to show how HE blesses us every day. I am so thankful that we had those times when we followed His call to "Go Home and tell what great things the LORD has done".
-F