Itsara

It rained all day on Friday for the first time in six months. The whole world has turned green again in a matter of days. It’s the start of the rainy season, and it will continue like this until sometime in November.

Also on Friday, we made a decision to turn our lives upside-down… again. You know, when you finally take that first, big, blind step into faith – like moving to another country – you think, “I did it! I finally turned my life over to God. Now the hard part is over.” If you’re like me, and that’s what you think, then I’m afraid I have some news for you. Here’s how it actually goes.

The Proposal. God has something big for you – something that you used to think you could never do, but for whatever reason you’re at the point where you think you could maybe say yes. It’s scary, and there’s a lot you don’t know, but you know that with enough faith, you could say yes this time.

The Decision. You decide to do it. Maybe you’re going on a mission trip. Maybe you’re giving something up. Maybe you’re getting married, or having a baby, or moving, or changing jobs, or leaving the country. Whatever it is, you say yes, and your life gets turned upside-down.

The Waiting. Between the decision and the implementation of that decision is the waiting. This, actually, is the hardest part. This is the part where Satan will test you. “Are you sure God asked you to do this? What if you were wrong? What if you made it up, and this isn’t what God wants you to do? What if he doesn’t actually provide what you need?” Maybe it’s God testing you, actually – or at least allowing the testing. The test is there so that you, God, and everybody else will know that you mean business – that you didn’t just say yes on a whim or on some spiritual high. If you can make it through this part, then you get to the point that so few people ever get to: you actually do what God asked you to do.

Real Work (optional: Honeymoon). When you start to do whatever it is, there might be a honeymoon period or there might not, but there will always be a really hard part where you wish you hadn’t said yes. This is where the real work is done. For me, the only thing that ever gets me through these times is knowing that I know that I know that God sent me for this. “Have I not commanded you?” he once told me. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Rinse. Repeat. Finally, when you get through this second hard part (or third, if you count the decision itself), you will have grown in faith, wisdom, and perseverance to a level you never thought possible. You will not be the same person that you were when you thought to say yes. You will know God better, but despite what you might think, the hard part is not over. Because right then, when you have enjoyed a short period of being good at what God called you to do, God knocks on your door again. He has something big for you – something you used to think you could never do…

I’m sorry, I was going to tell you about how we have two new girls in the house, but it turned into this essay on what saying yes to God is like. Cindy and I have agreed to take in two Thai orphans. Pan (rhymes with “fun”, not “fan”) is 15 and moved in with us yesterday. Her last remaining parent recently died and she was staying with her elderly, ailing grandmother. Her grandmother wanted to know she was being taken care of before she died.

The other girl, we haven’t met yet, and I don’t know her name. She’ll be here today or tomorrow. She’s 9 years old and is coming from an abusive situation in one of the villages. It was actually the other villagers who insisted she be taken in somewhere.

I’ll give you more information as it comes, and keep praying – we need it. We’re in the honeymoon stage, sort of, but I think all my honeymoons are tainted now with the knowledge of their temporary nature.

Um, and the conclusion that cleverly ties this all back in with the image of changing seasons is left as an exercise for the reader. Go ahead, have fun with it.