The Mission Part 2

I want to start by saying that I am thankful to Ruth...who came each morning to dress and feed the kids and take them to my mom so Randy was freed up to work. I'm also thankful to her for taking the kids to Great Wolf Lodge on Thursday-Saturday, they LOVED it! I am thankful to Bob for inviting Andrew and I and for his interest and investment in missions throughout the years. I am thankful to my Mama who watched the kids and fed the kids and cared for the kids each day while Randy was at work and then let our VERY big and VERY hairy dog stay with her while the kids and Randy were at Great Wolf Lodge. I'm thankful to Randy for sending us on the mission trip with his blessing even though it complicated his week. I'm thankful for him taking such good care of the younguns.

Anyway....

One of the issues that has really touched my heart over the last year or so is the poor.  I went through a Bible Study with Linda earlier this year and we studied James which touches on the poor and our responsibility to them.  We also went through Randy losing his job and being unemployed for 7 months last year which also made me more sensitive to the needs of those around me.  In addition, Randy and I have been studying Randy Alcorn's book Money, Possessions, and Eternity in our Sunday School Class.  Then I went on this mission trip.  It was my first time out of the United States and it was a trip to a third world country and I must say the standard of living was shocking.

Randy and I were blessed with a lot financially at a young age.  Over the years, however,  the Lord has seen fit to continuously decrease our financial means while increasing our family size.  So with less money and more people it has made us have to make some big changes in our life and our lifestyle.  Yet when I visited Guatemala it humbled me.  We have soooooooooo much.  Our less is sickeningly much.  Really we have too much.

So one of the lessons I take away with me is how materially blessed I am and with that blessing comes a huge responsibility.  I am a steward of all the Lord entrusts me with.  Am I to save up as much as I can so I can have a secure future? Am I to save it all so I can leave a huge hunk to my kids?  Am I to live as a minimalist? Am I to spend it all because I can't take it with me? 

God talks a lot about money in his word.  A lot.  We are going to one day give an account for how we save or spend or waste or invest our money.  I have been convicted.  I do not want to give an account one day and say....well I hoarded a lot of money so I would never have to worry about finances.  I always had enough.  I also don't want to give an account one day and say.....I spent it all.  I lived it up.  We had really cute clothes.  We had a lot of fun.  I do want to be able to be able to say I helped people.  We lived a nice life and we were happy. We invested not only our lives but our money in things that will last. 

So I was pondering all this and we finally arrived home and as we were debarking the airplane Bob got a phone call saying Ruth and Rhonda were in a bad car accident.  Their car had flipped on the freeway 4-5 times and that they were being taken to the hospital in an ambulance.  What?  They were coming to pick us up.  We had just talked to them on the phone in Atlanta.  Wow!  In an instant life can change.  Praise the Lord they had on their seat belts.  Praise the Lord for the guardrail that kept them from rolling into oncoming traffic.  Praise the Lord for his protection.  Then I had this thought occur to me,  life is a one shot deal.  This is not a dress rehearsal.  Life will be over in the blink of an eye.  No warning.  Each choice.....  Each action........  Each decision.........  Each reaction......could be my last.  How do I want to go out?  With my pockets full.......indulging myself.....or helping others......
I'm just sayin'.  Life really will end one day.....soon.
This is our one shot.....I want to live on purpose. 
I don't want to wish I did things differently when I am called to give an account for the way I lived.

One other thing that I must mention about this trip is what a blessing it was to serve with my son.  I was so proud of him.  He worked hard.  He didn't complain.  He thought of others.  He developed character.  It was a demanding week in many ways yet when he was squeezed I was proud of what I saw.  He is a blessing.  I'm so glad we got to share this experience and that we have these memories together.


This was a wonderful experience!  So thankful I got to go!

Kim