I apologize for the long silence - between a broken thumb, an out-of-country husband, a baby having serious medical issues... I got behind in pretty much everything!
The Boston Marathon bombing hit close to home.
As a resident physician, I worked the medical tent at the marathon. I expected heat/cold injuries, tendon injuries, dehydration... I would never have expected the medical tent to be transformed into a war zone medical tent. I would have been shocked... traumatized... grateful to be present and helpful... my family would have been so worried about me... my family might have lived through a certain portion of grief just imagining what life would be like if I was several yards closer to the blast zone...
When we moved our young family overseas, some people objected. How could we put our children in danger by moving to AFRICA?!
We argued that the safest place to be is in the center of God's will.
No, not physical safety necessarily. God doesn't guarantee physical safety. But He does promise to take care of His children.
On the day of the bombing in Boston, we were physically safer in Uganda than we would have been watching a friend run a foot race while sipping an iced latte in clothes that fit and pushing our children in the best strollers and bicycles known to mankind.
Might I lose one (or more) of my children on the mission field? Yes.
Might I lose one (or more) of my children safely tucked in a quiet New Hampshire community? Yes.
Might I gain the whole world only to lose my soul?
If the only thing holding you back from going where God is sending you is physical safety, think again. Yes, we need to be responsible - I don't send my children out walking alone. I even watch them walking to the trash pit (even if they don't know that I'm peeking out the window at them). But God is teaching me to loosen my grasp on what I cannot control and trust the sovereign creator of the universe to care for my little ones.
Is God calling you to the inner city? Is God bigger than drive-by shootings?
Is God calling you to a farm? Is God bigger than horses and farm equipment that can harm your child?
Is God calling you to Uganda? We serve a big and sovereign God who already knows the numbers of our days!
The Boston Marathon bombing hit close to home.
As a resident physician, I worked the medical tent at the marathon. I expected heat/cold injuries, tendon injuries, dehydration... I would never have expected the medical tent to be transformed into a war zone medical tent. I would have been shocked... traumatized... grateful to be present and helpful... my family would have been so worried about me... my family might have lived through a certain portion of grief just imagining what life would be like if I was several yards closer to the blast zone...
When we moved our young family overseas, some people objected. How could we put our children in danger by moving to AFRICA?!
We argued that the safest place to be is in the center of God's will.
No, not physical safety necessarily. God doesn't guarantee physical safety. But He does promise to take care of His children.
On the day of the bombing in Boston, we were physically safer in Uganda than we would have been watching a friend run a foot race while sipping an iced latte in clothes that fit and pushing our children in the best strollers and bicycles known to mankind.
Might I lose one (or more) of my children on the mission field? Yes.
Might I lose one (or more) of my children safely tucked in a quiet New Hampshire community? Yes.
Might I gain the whole world only to lose my soul?
If the only thing holding you back from going where God is sending you is physical safety, think again. Yes, we need to be responsible - I don't send my children out walking alone. I even watch them walking to the trash pit (even if they don't know that I'm peeking out the window at them). But God is teaching me to loosen my grasp on what I cannot control and trust the sovereign creator of the universe to care for my little ones.
Is God calling you to the inner city? Is God bigger than drive-by shootings?
Is God calling you to a farm? Is God bigger than horses and farm equipment that can harm your child?
Is God calling you to Uganda? We serve a big and sovereign God who already knows the numbers of our days!
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