Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Holding On Loosely ...



One month from today, we will graduate from The Spanish Language Institute and finish up our time living in Costa Rica.

That was not our original plan.

We boarded the plane in December thinking that we would be graduating near the end of 2017 after a year of studying Spanish.

But The Lord slowly began to show us that our plan for 2017 didn't line up with His plan for 2017 for our family.



And that's when the posture of our hearts began to shift ... and it has changed everything.

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Since leaving life in the States behind, we have had to loosen our grip in every area of our lives.

What started with letting go of physical belongings & our possessions, later ended up shifting to letting go of some relationships, positions at work and in ministry, and our sense of belonging.

Some things were easier to loosen our grip on than others.

But through it all, He has given us peace that is unexplainable and joy that is indescribable.

We were silly to think that we had completed the season of "letting go" when we arrived here in Costa Rica.  The truth is that it had only just begun.

Life in Costa Rica has required us to let go of our pride and comfort on a daily basis.

Simple things, like food cravings or a need for peace & quiet, are quickly left behind when you make a decision to move to a new country.

You realize how much "self" still needs to die when you are frustrated & exhausted from all of the pressures of life here.

We have slowly learned to embrace the feeling of letting go as a new "norm" for our family.

We have quickly realized that we are thankful that we have let go of some things in order to follow Him.

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A month from now, we will be boxing up what is left of our possessions & moving it all again to our next assignment in La Entrada de Copan, Honduras.

With all of the excitement that comes with finally being able to call Honduras home after 6 summers of serving on short term trips there ... it is another season of "letting go".

Costa Rica has become our home and it has been so, so good to us.

We have learned so much in our time here.

Lessons as a husband and wife, as parents, and as followers of Christ that far outweigh any amount of Spanish that we have learned.

We have developed relationships with fellow missionaries & Ticos that have challenged us, motivated us, encouraged us, and left us praising The Father for His sovereignty in bringing us to Costa Rica for "such a time as this". (Esther 4:14)

But now, it's time to begin to loosen our grip & prepare to let go as we wrap up our time here.

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The Lord has been teaching our hearts so much this year about holding on loosely.

To plans.  To people.  To things.  To comfort.  To routine.  To this life.

He has used so many different circumstances to open our eyes to the need to loosen our grip on this life and release everything to Him.

We have realized that we need to hold on loosely to the things we love greatly because they were His first.

And we have realized while yielding to His plan over our own, that He truly does know best.

He loves our loved ones more than we do.  He desires for them to know Him more than we do.

He wants what is best for our family more than we do.  He knows how to give us His best.

He desires to be on display for all to see His goodness as we take daily steps of obedience to surrender to His plan for our family.

We have loosened our grip on following our own plan and instead tightened our grip on our confidence in Him.

Now that we are embracing and living these truths outloud, they have changed the posture of our hearts as husband and wife, as mommy & daddy, and most importantly as followers of Christ.

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What we are realizing about loosening our grip is that it makes our heart more available to give to The Lord and receive from Him.

When we loosen our grip, we are also more eager to give to others and receive from others.

We find ourselves taking advantage of the blessings that we have been given in such a way that we are actually enjoying what we have been given ... instead of holding on so tightly that we lose sight of what we are even holding onto & the value that it truly has in our life.

With open hands, we are able to see each struggle as an opportunity for The Lord to give and take away for our good and His glory.  And He's doing just that every single day.


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For the first time in our lives, we are going to enter into this next season in Honduras with our grip loosened.  

We find rest and peace knowing that the worst situations that we may face will now find us with our hands open.

Ready to receive what we need from The Lord.


Willing to freely give what He asks from us.


Surrendered fully to His plan.



Lord, we open our hands and our hearts to your perfect plan for our family.  We walk in confidence knowing that you have chosen us as vessels to declare your praise and share your love with the world.  We are choosing to hold on loosely to it all - for You to take from us whatever You choose.  The only thing that we will not let go of is our hope in You, Lord.  Strengthen us for your glory! 
In Jesus' Name - Amen. 



James 4:13-14
"Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money".  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes".