Well we’ve been back in the states for 3 months now and are still in the process of transition.  In many ways I think it’s taken us longer than we anticipated.  Jeff’s job search has been slow, but we’ve seen God’s hand in it all along.  Jeff has just today received a job offer for a contract position that will get us at least through the end of the year.  He starts Monday.  We praise God for His perfect timing.

We’ve been living with amazing friends throughout the summer in two different households.  The Lonas Family graciously and generously put us up for seven weeks followed by the Hale Family who blessed us with their blessings for nearly four weeks.  These were both amazing blessings to us and saved us a huge amount of money and provided extra security as we landed back on American soil and became a little more stable.  We are now house-sitting for a retired couple from our church for the next two months as they travel the US in their RV.  This has been a refreshing refuge for us and has provided still more transition time for Jeff to get started at his job and for us to begin looking for a place of our own without any pressure to move in right away. 

I think some people we’ve talked with over the last three months have felt sorry for us and have wondered whether we regret giving up our house and all of our belongings three years ago…only to have to start over again now.  No one has come out and said this, but I’ve sort of “felt” it cross people’s minds.  To be honest, in moments of doubt it has crossed my mind.  But I’ve been so encouraged by John Piper through this process.  His book Don’t Waste Your Life has given me morsels of truth and encouragement at just the right moments and has spoken perfectly to our situation.  God has reminded me through Piper that risk is part of the Christian life….and whether we realize it or not, risk is woven into the fabric of our lives.    Here’s a great quote:

“Risk is right.  And the reason is not because God promises success to all our ventures in his cause.  There is no promise that every effort for the cause of God will succeed, at least not in the short run.”

He goes on to talk about the greatness of risk for the cause of God…

“On the far side of every risk…the love of God triumphs.  This is the faith that frees us to risk for the cause of God. … It is childlike faith in the triumph of God’s love – that on the other side of all our risks, for the sake of righteousness, God will still be holding us.  We will be eternally satisfied in Him.  Nothing will have been wasted.”

And so in the midst of a culture where the “myth of safety” prevails, I am happy to be living out a very obvious reality where there are many unknowns waiting around the corner and numerous things beyond my control.   The great thing about Jeff and I’s current situation is that there is no mistaking WHO is in control.  We feel completely out of control and that is such a great place to be (even as uncomfortable as it may be at times)!  Had we held onto our house or put all our stuff in storage three years ago…we wouldn’t be nearly as dependent upon God at this moment.   We would be tempted to be much more self-reliant.

And so, I can say with certainty in this moment that I do not regret following God’s leading to the Middle East three years ago and all of the sacrifice that came with it.  For God has taken us (and continues to take us) through a process of becoming more satisfied in HIM alone and not in belongings, circumstance, status, purpose or anything else.  And this makes it all worth it.