Month: August 2021

I have a mentor who was sharing with me about how she will often ask God to minister to her heart and He always responds in amazing ways. This was a new, but interesting idea to me. To minister is “to attend to the needs of [someone]”. God meets all of our needs so it seems to me a fitting thing to pray to Him. So, lately, I have been trying to more intentionally bring my sorrows, concerns and longings to Him, asking Him to minister to my heart.

One of the biggest things I have been learning through this is that He is such a personal God. He is a loving Father who hears my prayers and wraps me in an embrace. He is a tender Savior who lavishes me with love, though I am so quick to doubt and fear and worry. He knows each of His children better than we even know ourselves and supplies exactly what we need, when we need it.

On our recent trip to Kansas City for our Avant Go training I felt Him ministering to my heart in two very special and tangible ways.

First, it had recently dawned on me that when we go to France for language school we will be in classes four days a week and therefore our kids will be in daycare four days a week, for the first time ever. My desire has always been to stay home with our kids and the last three years of doing so have been such a gift. When I realized the reality of full time language school I was disappointed. I feel confident in our calling to go overseas and excited about learning French next year, but I couldn’t help feeling sad that I would not be with our kids in the stay-at-home capacity I have loved. So, in time, I brought it to the Lord, asking Him to minister to my heart. While at Avant we had classes all day so our kids went into a childcare setting during that time. Despite this being the longest the kids have been apart from us, especially with non-family members, they did great! Mia in particular thrived in the classroom. She adored her teachers, loved her classmates and eagerly anticipated each new day. One morning she woke up, came over and hugged me and then the first thing she said was, “Can I go to my classroom now?!”. I am so thankful for this experience and the glimpse it gave me into the experiences Mia will get to have during our time in France. It felt like a literal pat on the back from God as He assured me that He will care for our children whether they are home with me or not.

Second, our class for Avant Go was made up of people we had met last July at Avant Start as well as some people we were meeting for the first time. During the day our classes were filled with studying Scripture together, learning about what it looks like to move and work overseas and growing in appreciation for how God has uniquely created each of us. Each evening many of us gathered to play games together and share food and laughter. By the end of our week and a half of training it was hard to say goodbye to these dear friends. What stood out about this to me is that God knew who was going to come to this training. He knew each of our personalities, strengths and weaknesses. He provided fellowship and community and so much relational joy. And all of that in a mere week and a half. One of the biggest sorrows for me with our upcoming move overseas is leaving our community here in Midland. Almost all of our family lives near us, we have an amazing church family and tight knit friend group. As we drew close to people we had just met at Avant Go I felt God comforting me that He is the one who provides for us and that includes our relationships. Again, it was a gentle embrace from my Father who knows my desire for community and chose to show me so clearly that He is able to provide it, wherever we are.

I am so thankful for our personal God and the assurance that He hears our prayers and responds. I pray you know Him personally as well and get to experience the wonders of His love!

-Selina