Minimalist Lifestyle
Well, it is often very difficult to hear how past decisions, as well-meaning as they may have been as a bachelor, can bring up issues in the present! So goes the process of sanctification, right!? I truly believe God uses everything we have gone through in our past in order to mold us into who and what he desires for us to be in carrying out the mission he has called us to, but, sometimes this truth still doesn't make it any easier to deal with in the moment. Kelly wrote this post about a week ago, but, honestly I struggled with it big time. Mainly because it made me realize, again, that this whole process of becoming a church planting missionary is not at all about me and its constantly revealing to me how necessarily dependent I am on my Creator. One day, maybe, I'll have it figured out (in eternity!) but until then, the struggle is still there! May God's grace prove more and more sufficient as he builds his kingdom for his glory!
Chris
"Better a life with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil" Proverbs 15:16
Packing, packing, and more packing. It seems never-ending. I often feel like I could be an episode on Hoarders. It got me thinking about our family, our spending, and the life that we've given to God. By the world's definition, the McCall clan is not one of prosperity our success. We are not settled in a beautiful house that of course is kept immaculate. We have loud, wild-at-heart children that love exploring and rarely show fear. We have a dog that sheds so much you would think we bathe him with Nair. We rarely get date-nights, much less vacations. We have clothes that we still wear that are older than Micah, Kenley, and Dek combined. We are not "living the life"... and the thing is, we aren't trying to.
For most of my life I can honestly say that possessions aren't a big deal to me. On the five love languages scale, gifts is at the absolute bottom. To those that don't know me very well, it may come off as ungrateful. To me I see a life that was molded by God. I am a child of divorce and the coming and going meant I needed to have the bare minimum; the necessities. With my mother's remarriage, our lives then became ones of travelers. Again, we needed the minimum; the necessities, on the these travels. God was shaping my life so that when I finally understood the call of being a missionary, I would not be held back by a materialistic mentality.
To commemorate my calling, I had the Ichthus tattooed on my ankle. I would never allow myself to forget the important calling that God placed on my life. Wherever He led, I would follow. Regardless of where and what I had to leave behind, His calling is the life I accepted and continue to live. When He called me to marry Chris, I didn't want to accept it. He had a house. He had a mortgage. HE HAD A DOG. Chris was settled. Why would God, who so very clearly called me to be a missionary, call me to marry a man that was settled? It took a couple of years to realize that regardless of how I pictured my missionary life to go, God's plan was for me to marry the settled down, dog-owning, Chris McCall.
I questioned the impact I was making as a stateside missionary, not realizing the impact I was having on my husband. Honestly, I can't believe it has taken me five years and a move to Indiana to realize that probably the biggest impact I was having was on my husband and our family. The guy that I thought was so focused on having a fifty year plan and living the suburban life, he is now wanting to be a part of church plants and possibly start one with God's leadership and direction at some point in the future. Five years ago I loved Chris. Present Chris, that is letting more and more of himself go in his desire to follow Christ, that is diving into the unknown because his faith rests in God's calling.. I find myself unable to breathe because I'm so awe at the man he is becoming in Christ.
Most of the issues we are having now as a family in our move to Indiana, are ones that are from past Chris. Decisions from a less faithful faith. BUT, the glorious thing is that God is faithful. He has been testing me, our family as a whole, and Chris. Through our faith, God has provided what we need. We're able to make it to Indiana! Every concern and issue we have been struggling with, God has seen it through. He has blessed us with amazing people that have given out of faithfulness, not knowing what our needs were, but exactly met the need we had and when we needed it met. Some would call that coincidence. I don't believe in coincidence. I believe in God's timing.
"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what its is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength"
- Philippians 4: 11-13
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