Last night our small group met in our home to study Luke 5. Levi, the tax collector encountered Jesus and is called to follow Christ. He immediately left everything – EVERYTHING and followed Him. His monetary gain, his security, his family – were all left behind. Serving Christ is not without sacrifice.
As my husband and I continue to serve the Lord in this new D&D Ministry, I’ve been more aware of what it is to leave and follow. Our past ministries have been “home” to us, but for right now, the Lord’s directive has been “go.” On Monday evening we pulled into our driveway after traveling 2,063 miles.
First we traveled to the Adirondacks in New York, then later traveled to Warwick, NY. We stayed at four different lodging destinations, ate in countless restaurants, and drank multiplied cups of Dunkin Coffee as we traveled. There were torrential rains, sunshine, lakes, mountains and farmland. We experienced traffic jams and road rage. We had delights and disappointments. We saw some beautiful sights and had sweet times along the way, but you know what? All the travel adventures are not why we’re leaving our home to go. We’e not out seeking something to do. What we are doing is simply being obedient to God’s will in our lives. He has led us and opened these doors.
I remember when the Lord began filling our calendar with requests from ministries where we would need to travel to serve there, I said, “Lord, I thought you were going to bring pastors to us and we would serve them in our home.” The Lord simply whispered in my heart, “Trust me.” I have, and I have watched Him comfort me when I leave home – or when I miss my nest. He is teaching me that this is not my home – it is in heaven.
I’m leaning hard towards Him, keeping my eyes on my Savior as we join Him in His work in the places where we are traveling. I can say that it has been a joy. We have met wonderful people in these ministries, had precious times of encouraging pastors and their wives, while also being enriched ourselves.
I had the blessing of speaking at a ladies’ event at Adirondack Bible Chapel. where dear friends of ours serve. Dale preached a Family Conference there Sunday – Tuesday. The folks absorbed the Word and it was a joy!
Dale preached in Warwick at Pine Island Bible Church. What a blessing to be a part of their ministry. They truly have a heart for discipleship as they reach out to their community with the Gospel. After lunch at the church, I had the blessing of sharing God’s Word with the ladies, and Dale spoke to the men. Again, we had sweet times to fellowship and encourage the pastor and his sweet wife.
While I did miss home, the Lord so kindly blessed us with precious times, fun adventures, memories, laughs, and multiplied other blessings. So I’ll have to add to my previous statement that following Christ is not without sacrifice, but it is also not without huge blessings. Even if we don’t see them here, our hearts are desirous to live for eternity, where we will stand and give an account of how we have lived for the Lord after salvation. Traveling as we have done does hinder us from some things that we would like to do, but we trust our wise God to provide and lead us in His perfect way.
If you have prayed for us while we’re traveling, thank you. The Lord has graciously answered in so many ways. If you have read our recent newsletter, you know that we will be spending part of every week in June and July at The Wilds Christian Camp where we will be encouraging the pastors and sponsors who bring campers each week. We are so excited about this opportunity. Again, we thank you for your prayers for us as we go!
Where has God called you to go? To a neighbor? To a ministry? To a church? Another country? You won’t regret following Him. Levi’s life is testimony to that. So is mine. May we say with Paul, “For me to live is Christ.” Philippians 1:21
RefreshHer 