I’ve done one or two difficult things in my life. And by difficult, I mean, things that pushed me beyond my comfort zone and meant taking a risk. I moved to France in August of 1999. I lived with a woman who spoke zero English (nada, zilch…not one word of my native tongue). I bought a wedding dress before I even had a steady boyfriend (call me crazy…I’m sure lots of people did). I’ve climbed a mountain (okay, it was a small mountain, but it still counts because when I looked down into its crater and felt my stomach swirl and flop there was no questioning we were at a much higher altitude than your average, run-of-the-mill hill). I’ve done a little public speaking (which I have recently learned that 95% of public speakers experience nervousness and anxiety to some degree). And I birthed my last child sans drugs. It was completely au natural, and I remember it like it was yesterday, believe me.
Like I said, I haven’t done too many hard things, which really only means I’ve been playing it safe my whole life. Too safe. I’m not an adventure seeker, and you will never see me on Survivor, Amazing Race, or hanging out with the likes of Bear Grylls and the National Geographic crew. You can forget about that. I’m not one looking for the next thrill, but I am one who wants to live a thrilling life. I want to be one who lives out her faith and is willing to take the chances that God brings my way. I could easily stay on the sidelines and enjoy the comfort and security of where I am currently, but I believe if I want true blessing and an extraordinary life, then I need to start stepping out and doing a few difficult things.
Sunday was our missions faith-promise Sunday. Each person/family was challenged (but not obligated) to commit a certain amount of money each month, throughout the year, for missions. In addition to that, we were given the opportunity to participate in planting 250 churches in Ethiopia. And in addition to that, we were given a challenge to participate with Convoy of Hope and bring one day’s salary as an offering on Easter Sunday that will go towards “One Day To Feed The World”. Wow. As I sat in my seat that morning, I could feel the wrestling match going on in my head and in my stomach. “But God…it’s been such a hard year. You can’t really be asking us to do all this?” “God, I’m not sure I have enough faith. I believe you can do anything, and I believe you can supply, but…this? Really?”
And then something else happened. As clear as day, I recalled what I sensed God whisper to me in the wee hours of that same morning, “Amy, trust me. Amy, stop worrying about tomorrow. Take care of today. Focus on today. Trust me with the tomorrows.”
And suddenly, I knew. We couldn’t sit on the sidelines and simply watch while others stepped out in courageous faith. We had to step out too. We had to place all of our fears and uncertainties and, “how are we going to do this?” questions on the altar along with our faith promise commitments.
This was one of those hard things. Hard, as in, “God you have called us to do this, to step out in faith, and now we surrender to you…to the unknown path we walk.”
On the way home from church, Sydney called to me from the back seat, “Hey Mom! Would you break my piggy bank when we get home?”
“Why, Honey?”
“I want to give all my money to help the people in Haiti.”
My heart melted. And I realized something very profound: if Joel and I want to raise children with hearts for giving, then we must model giving. For Sydney, this was so simple…nothing hard about it at all. In fact, to her, giving is a delight. Even for myself, giving this time was a joy, even though it was a step of faith. I truly felt what it means to be a cheerful giver.
My family is on a mission: a mission to change the world, one small step at a time. We will not shy away from the difficult tasks, but we will accept the challenges God brings our way and live lives with purpose and courageous faith. We will do the hard things.