51 weeks from now . . .
Sam when we were getting to know each other.
Sam was our first grandchild. We are proud of the way he has responded to the call his parents have accepted for their family. He will turn 17 the January after they arrive in PNG. He has already visited Haiti, Mexico, a country in North Africa (where missionaries are not allowed and converts to Christianity face severe persecution and possible death), and PNG on short term mission trips. He goes running and cycling with Jeremy and loves to play soccer. Sam is also learning to play the guitar.
Today is December 6th. 33 years ago today, my Dad, Barney Lee Sanders, was driving an 18 wheeler and was involved in an accident and died at the scene. I was 23 years old and Jeremy was 2 ½ yrs old at the time. Nicole was 2 months away from entering into this world. I have always wondered how different our lives would have been if Barney had not died that day. He loved Jeremy and would get down on the floor and play with him the entire time we were visiting their home. And he was so excited about having a granddaughter since there was only me and my brother and he was an only child. Nicole would have been the first baby girl for him to make a fuss over. I know his sudden and unexpected death has affected my life in many ways, probably more in my later years, maybe contributing to my willingness to take more risks than I would have otherwise, and to strive toward being fully alive. And I would hope, an awareness that each day that we are given is a gift to be treasured.
John 12:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (ESV)
During an email exchange with Jeremy, regarding Jeremy and Kandy’s announcement of their plans for departure from the U.S. next December [to go live in Papua New Guinea to support the effort to take the Gospel to the unreached tribes living in the remote regions of the island], Jeremy said, “As we seek to identify with Christ, it is only when a seed falls into the ground and dies that there will be fruit. There isn’t a separate calling for those who go and those who are at home. It’s not a special calling for those who go. It’s just a separate function. We are all called to fall into the ground and die for the sake of the harvest. I say this to acknowledge that your part in our story is just as hard and painful. Our families will have to die a death every day as we are separated by thousands of miles. It will be hard, and yet at the end by the power of the Spirit in us, we will all say it was no sacrifice at all.”
David Sitton, who is the founder of To Every Tribe Ministries and leader of the Center for Pioneer Church Planting, often says in regards to possible martyrdom, “Jesus is worth it.”
These things we know in our head. There are times when I can fully embrace these plans and feel a deep and abiding peace about it all. And then there are still times when the very thought of seeing my only son and his family move to a somewhat primitive culture so far away from us threatens to tear my heart into pieces.
My prayer today is, “Father of every good and perfect gift, fill us with your peace and give us the grace we need to trust you more. Prepare Jeremy and Kandy for the challenges that lie before them and empower them to make disciples that will in turn be faithful to preach the Gospel. Provide for their every need. Fill our hearts with compassion and love for those who have never heard of your unconditional love and the salvation your love has provided for all who believe.”
The Lord is always at work to challenge us and provide us opportunities to embrace the cry of John the Baptist, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30. May it be so in our lives this week, Lord.
I plan to post some additional comments over the next year as Sandra and I work our way through this experience in hopes that it may encourage some others who are considering God’s call upon their life, or if your children decide they are called to serve in foreign lands.
Hope in the Lord 