Problem Free Living-A Fallacy?!

The following words from the devotional we’re reading, Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, have been our inspiration this week. Written as coming from the mouth of Jesus:

Give up the illusion that you deserve a problem-free life. Part of you is still hungering for the resolution of all difficulties. This is a false hope! As I told My disciples, in the world you will have trouble. Link your hope not to problem solving in this life but to the promise of an eternity of problem-free life in heaven. Instead of seeking perfection in this fallen world, pour your energy into seeking Me; the Perfect One.

It is possible to enjoy Me and glorify Me in the midst of adverse circumstances. In fact, My Light shines most brightly through believers who trust Me in the dark. That kind of trust is supernatural: a production of My indwelling Spirit. When things seem all wrong, trust Me anyway. I am much less interested in right circumstances than in right responses to whatever comes your way.

These words express much of what we are learning as we continue to transition from the life we knew in Wheaton to the life and service that God has called us to in Greece.

The week passed with more surprises:

They recalled the truckers’ strike all week, so we waited day by day to hear if our container would come and no word yet. It was painful to get back onto the air mattress and in our sleeping bags Monday night after thinking we would be sleeping in our own bed snuggled under our down comforter that night! An interesting side note: Friday they started ripping up the road that leads to our street. We are wondering how the container will get here if they do end the strike tomorrow!

Got another parking ticket Monday. That makes two in less than one week. We felt blessed this time that they didn’t take our plates, it was only a 40 euro fine again! One has to laugh and trust God’s sovereignty in these things because we are trying so hard to obey the law and yet we are still making so many errors!

Language school heated up this week, getting really hard really quickly. We are trying to keep our heads above water!

Thursday Johnathan said we were witness to a miracle as the lady at the visa place, took our money to apply for our visa here even though we are missing much of the necessary paperwork. We worked with a woman who spoke good English and was very nice to us. The visa we got in the US expires this Sat so we are so grateful that she started the process for us without our paperwork being complete. Much more to do in that area, for example, getting a certified copy of our marriage certificate, sending it to Springfield to be apostilled, get it here, translate it, take it to the US Embassy here in Greece to get an affidavit that we are still married and then turn it in. We need to do this for several other things too like insurance and our income. A complicated process for sure but we have been blessed by the kindness and cooperation of this woman so far. Thank you Lord.

Had a great little get away Friday night with the other HM wives. We spent the night at a local hotel and enjoyed a great time together getting to know each other better and sharing what God is doing in each of our lives. It was a lovely break at the end of another crazy week.

That’s all for now. We continue to be encouraged by your love and prayers as we seek to serve here for the name of Jesus. We see the needs all around us and are anxious to be able to communicate the hope we have in our hearts to others. For now, we try to do that without words!