“God did not promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, nor sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears and light for the way.” – Author Unknown
My sister-in-law made a painting with this phrase on it and gave it to me on the day I learned my father was dying and that it was time to go home to say goodbye. Obviously, that was one of the darkest days of my life and one of many hard days to follow. And as promised, God was faithful to comfort me in my grief and help me live in a world where my father no longer did. Almost three years later, I still frequently spend time with my father in my dreams and enjoy a sweet relationship with him beyond the grave.
I’ve blogged before about another difficult time in my life when God’s strength, comfort and light were greatly needed. My husband and I were once missionaries living in Lima, Peru, where I taught English and Alex oversaw all the other aspects of our covering ministry (“NCM”). During that time, we had many struggles, including learning the language, establishing a community of friends, feeling disconnected from our stateside friends and family, and trusting God to provide for our every need. Then suddenly, when things seemed to be settling down, the rug was pulled out from under us. The ministry, NCM, was falling apart due to sin in the leadership. Other staff members left the ministry, and even our stateside covering church broke ties with us through no fault of our own. So we were forced to return to the States and end our almost two years of missionary life. I had never had such a dark period in my life before that.
While I’ve blogged about those events before (The “Do What, Now?” Parts 1-7 blog posts), I have not always seen the bigger picture through the eyes of this one constant promise of God that has taken all the years of my life and held them up to the truth of this scripture:
And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose. (Romans 8:28 AMP)
God’s Light began to shine on my way when I was a child growing up in the church in Massachusetts. While I didn’t turn to Jesus as my Lord and Savior until college, God’s hand was upon me and kept me safe within His care so that I did not stray too far away from Him as a teenager. By the end of my freshman year in college, I had finished six years of studying Spanish and attended my first official mission trip in Daytona Beach, Florida. God had sparked my interest in evangelism that year, and deep down I knew eventually I would travel to a Spanish-speaking country to further that interest. But not yet…
During the next two summers, I spent my time as an inner city missionary in Vancouver, British Colombia and New York City. The Enemy tried hard to dissuade me from my interest in missions, as both those summers were extremely hard on my soul. In fact, I took a much needed, long break from missions because I had lost my grip on God’s light for my way. I associated dark times with missions work, and this wouldn’t be the only time that association would keep me from the mission field.
While my faith remained intact, my heart lost its passion for evangelism. That is, until almost four years later when I moved to Georgia to attend a discipleship school for one year. On October 6, 2003, after an evening class, the Vice President of NCM shared her heart for the lost in Lima, Peru, and immediately my heart stood up and took notice. Finally, a Spanish-speaking country where I could go and use all the gifts God had given me! And in June of 2004, along with my new fiancé Alex, I visited San Juan de Lurigancho for the first of countless times to come.
Our missions team leader that summer was a lady by the name of Patricia Wautlet. Her heart for the lost preceded her, as she was one of the most powerful and motivating speakers we heard on our trip. She was heartbroken for the numerous Peruvian women who spoke of being physically and sexually abused, and she had a vision for opening a shelter to be a refuge for those women (and their children) to rescue them from the grip of darkness. But it was a vision she would never see brought to life. Soon after our trip, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer and died shortly thereafter.
But her vision did not die with her. NCM took up that vision and built the shelter in her honor, naming it “Pat’s Place,” and opening the home in 2006. That year we visited Peru again, carrying Pat’s inspiration and seeing the fruits of her labor realized. But that wasn’t to be the end of our story, but just the beginning…
The Art of Choosing True Life 