Velcro Hearts

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Mine and Johnny's hearts are like strong Velcro. They stick so well to the people and places we love. It isn’t that flimsy Velcro that one must continually stick again and again like on old tennis shoes. It is that durable Velcro that takes a bit of force to pull off. Once it is stuck it is hard to remove.

We love those whom God has put in our path. But, this makes it difficult when we leave one place and go to another. That Velcro must be torn off and it leaves a sting.

I, Jen, feel a constant stirring in my heart that it is about time to set our ship a sail once again. I moved to the states four years ago with a little baby and my husband followed shortly after. It was a time of welcoming and celebration. I left as one and came home as three! I love God’s multiplication table!

Four years ago we pulled our ship to shore, unpacked, moved in and have been making a home for ourselves, making new friends, and living the American dream all the while still working on behalf of the marginalized children that remained behind. We were content for the first few months then Johnny took the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement class… (www.perspectives.org). He got the nudge in his heart that that this ship won’t stay forever, that we are called to be reaching out with the love of God to those in difficult places. It wasn’t long afterwards that I felt the same.

We talked about it over the years and for the last ten months we have been praying, listening, talking, back peddling, rushing ahead and staying still while we try to figure out what our lives are to look like. We know our God given gifts, our desires and our callings and we long to live them out fully, 100%! (MISSING)

We are not content to stand on the exterior only dipping in our toes to the Lord’s greater plan for our lives. It has been when we have walked forward in faith that we have experienced God in greater ways than when we stay in our comfort. We know His plans far outweigh our own and we know that He has designed us with a place in our hearts that wants to take care of every orphan in the world. It is not out of our own goodness because we are so flawed.

Johnny has walked in the shoes of many of these children. He knows first-hand what it means to suffer abuse and abandonment and he knows what it means to have someone step in, pick him up and give him a home in all senses of the word. It is because of people that said “Yes” to God’s call to care for the orphans, abandoned and destitute that my husband was given a good life. He is now a man full of humor, wisdom, compassion, strength, love...and did I say humor? What better man to speak into the life of a child who has walked the path of suffering?!

So, we have started packing up the ship to set sail back to Africa. It will take awhile before the actual move across the ocean. However, in a few weeks we are moving from our home into something smaller so we can work towards the destination. The Velcro is already hurting. We know the pain it will create for all of us who are connected by that intertwined material. We also know the joy that awaits as we minister to the children that are looking for someone to stick by them. We will stick well.

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Comments

[Scott]

Thanks for sharing this Jen and Johnny!