On Your Mark! Get Set! … Wait

This is our planned future vehicle and home in Germany. They’re owned by another missionary family, who are leaving Germany for a few years to SE Asia. They need someone to buy the van and take over their home so they can afford to follow God where He’s called them.

You’re a runner, waiting in front of the starting blocks of the race of your lifetime. You’ve spent years preparing for this race—preparing your mind, body, and soul for a moment like this, even when many around you wondered if you’d lost the plot. You were always certain of your avocation, knowing that someday you’d be crouched in these starting blocks, because this is what you were made to do. Every other race you’ve ever run before was only a prelude to this. As you wait, you relive the last season of your life in your mind.

One day, not too long ago, you got the call that you were invited to run this race—THE race. Because it was what you were made to do—because there was nothing else in the world you could imagine doing with your life other than running this race—you immediately began making changes in every remaining facet of your life, to be more well-prepared for the race. You sell anything and everything you can to raise cash for your training and travel. You get involved in even higher-level training regimens, and you even see some running specialists who teach you how to run better/faster/longer, and test you to make sure they made the right call in allowing you to run.

The race is in a far-away place, and you’ll be required to be there a long time. You begin dismantling the life you built in your current home. Everything gets sorted into three piles: sell, donate, keep. The “keep” pile gets further sorted into things you need on your journey, and things you might need, in the distant future, when you return. Everyone in your family gives up something—the kids have fewer toys, your spouse empties the closet, the dog has to find a new home because she’s too old for the long, hard journey.

You arrange for someone to take over your own home, arrange buyers for your vehicles, and pack everything but your essentials in suitcases and plastic crates. You find a home to rent in your future host-city—one large enough to accommodate the whole family. You also locate a used vehicle there to buy from a trustworthy source, so your family can have dependable transportation. The race organizers arrange for a space for you to do all of your pre- and post-race preparation, as well as to manage your business affairs while you’re there.

“On your mark!” the Race Caller shouts as He approaches the line, and every muscle in your body tenses slightly. You crouch into those blocks, your legs and arms ready to explode. Your whole body trembles with palpable anticipation, ready to carry out the calling you’ve been following for more than 15 years. You hear the crowd of encouragers around you, cheering you on, and you realize that you’re closer to this moment than you’ve ever been before.

“Get set!” Your head drops, in anticipation of the next command. You reset your feet on the blocks, your body coiling into its own kinetically-charged spring.

Silence. You hear nothing. You wait a bit, not trying to be impatient, then you glance slightly to your left and right, verifying that you’ve not missed the call. You strain your ears, listening intently for the Race Caller’s voice—your whole being desires nothing less than to hear Him call for you to start running the race.

And still silence.

This, friends, is where we are right now. Our hearts’ desire is to serve in Germany with Wycliffe. We’ve been systematically dismantling our life here in Texas, so that we can follow God’s calling on our lives wherever He’d have us go. He has provided amazingly thus far—both financially and logistically—but we’ve got a bit more to go.

Please prayerfully consider partnering with us through a monthly commitment, to help us leave the starting line, and run the race that God has called us to run.