Last week I published a book called The Six Senses of Peru with photos taken on our many trips to Peru along with scripture references pertaining to the various senses (sight, sound, touch, etc.). With this picture I included Matthew 8:27 (AMP): “The men wondered in amazement, saying, ‘What kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’”
Well, last week was also a turbulent time emotionally for me, as my husband, Alex, was in Peru for eight days while myself and the kids carried on back home without him. My winds and sea of emotions threatened to cast me overboard a few times, as you can imagine, while dealing with three little ones and all their daily carryings-on. Thankfully, my mom was in town to help us with all physical tasks, but the emotional ones still challenged us all. Alex travels from time to time for work, but now that we have our ministry in Peru, he travels at least four times a year there as well. This was one of those trips.
Each time Alex boards a plane to Lima, Peru, a piece of my heart goes with him. Having lived there in 2007 to 2008, we called it “home” once and now always because our ministry is based there. So naturally, I wish I was with him on each journey, but my calling as a mom is just as important, although my emotions might tell me otherwise. Every single time he leaves the house, my anxiety goes up a notch as I wait for his return. And sometimes those winds cause bigger storms than others. Sometimes the sea is rougher if I let my mind wander at all the things that could go wrong, both here and wherever he is.
Last week, another challenge arose that I was not anticipating. The girls were to go on a Girl Scout day trip to the Georgia Aquarium. Daddy would normally take them, as Mommy has a certain comfort zone that does not involve long, downtown drives or big groups of people. But since Daddy was out of town, it was up to Mommy. Ugh. Luckily, this was one of my devotions last week:
Because you are my God, I don’t have to dread the turbulent weather that threatens to capsize me. When I look to you for help, you calm my nerves, remove my fears, and speak tranquility into each situation I face. There is peace in your presence. (Raindrops from Heaven by Twila Belk, April 25.)
So I prayed, “Lord, I know this is true. Your Word is Sure. So I will ‘stand my ground where hope can be found’” (Lauren Daigle “O Lord”), and onward we went to the aquarium! Right away, He moved to lessen my anxiety by providing another driver for me and my girls. Above and beyond that, the leader who drove us had clearly spent ample time talking to my husband in the past, as she knew a great deal about our ministry and even encouraged me with stories of other missionaries. She was a comfort throughout the day, as she and the other leaders were so encouraging of all the girls and kept their cool in potentially irritating situations. My girls were surprisingly well behaved for the most part. And when the troop sat in the “splash zone” of the dolphin show where I knew we’d get soaked, a quiet inner voice said, “Just roll with it.” And yes, we got soaked. But no, nobody was overly bothered by it, me included.
God did in fact calm my nerves, remove my fears, and speak tranquility into each situation I faced that day. And just long enough for Daddy to come home Sunday morning and meet us at church for our “Missions Sunday,” where we held lunch and other fundraising opportunities for the various short-term missions teams to gain support. If that were not enough, I even was able to go to a Chris Tomlin concert that night to even more so be uplifted in worship on a large scale…just like heaven!
Sometimes God has to rock my boat in order to make me grow, to give me opportunities to depend more fully on him. Honestly, I think that’s why he allows Alex to travel once in a while so that I’m reminded of who my First Husband is, my true Provider and Protector. I need to stand in amazement at how firmly His hand calms the stormy seas of my life. Each experience builds on the next so that my trust in Jesus matures.
I’m proud to share the book inspired by our ministry experiences in Peru because they have built my faith so much in the Savior who leaves the ninety-nine for each one that is lost and needs to come home. Every soul matters to Him, from the richest to the poorest in places like Paraiso (“Paradise”) in San Juan de Lurigancho of Lima, Peru. The furthest thing from paradise, Paraiso is where you will find believers and nonbelievers alike sharing shacks and hillside water buckets and maybe a few hours of electricity each day. No matter how much or how little they have, they are grateful for a God who reaches out to them through our ministry and reminds them that they’re important to the Father too. I’ll let my boat get rocked any day to know that what I do, whether it be in person myself or allowing my husband to travel there, builds their trust in Jesus too.
To order a copy of The Six Senses of Peru, click here. To donate to Amor Real Ministries, click here.
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