life is about to change

ever since my family started on our journey to follow Jesus together, life has been an adventure.

for us it meant saying goodbye to the mundane - but also to friends and family.  it meant having to trust God to use the generosity of others to provide for our needs.  it meant relinquishing choices - like choosing where we want to live, what schools our kids go to, and what church to be a part of.  it meant changing languages and cultures.

following Jesus means just that - following.  that means he leads.  we give up the driver's seat.  our ambitions and desires are no longer what push us.  in fact, his leadership often times cuts directly against our personal ambitions!

following Him also means being open to a life of changes.  changes stretch us and make us better.  changes expose us, and force us to work on who we are.  changes can be a blast, and changes can be difficult.

life is about to change for us again.

paul, jessica, and their 4 beautiful girls arrive in one week.  unlike those of us who have moved to guatemala ahead of them, they won't have suffer through the madness of renting an old home full of electric, plumbing, and flooding issues (hopefully, anyway).  why?  because they are moving in with us!

we converted our garage into a 2-level living space for the davis crew.  yep, life is about to get communal.

one thing i loved about our season of life in north st. johns county, FL was the community that God surrounded us with.  you know, the kind that you walk across the street, open your neighbor's door without knocking, and walk straight into their kitchen see what they have in the fridge...  that is a special kind of community life.  mutual comfort, appreciation, respect, and love for one another.  grace, acceptance, and honesty.

if chip or rich hung out at my place one night and emptied my man fridge, i'd come home a couple days later to find it replenished with a thank you note.  and if i needed to borrow one of their lawn mowers, i'd bring it back cleaned spotless with a full tank of gas.

those things sound easy, but not everyone ticks that way. 

but what about when parenting differences collide?  when you discover disagreements on bigger issues?  when personalities clash or certain "quirks" begin to drive each other crazy. 

unlike with most friendships, in a community-living environment, you can't just take a few weeks off of seeing one another.  like with your immediate family, you have to work it out.  and the sooner the better, before things bubble up.  you have to learn how to live together.  how to love one another.

life is about to change.  grace, honesty, and communication will be the key.

we are excited and nervous.  more excited than nervous, because from the time we have spent with the davis', we have really enjoyed being together.  but still a little nervous. 

- what if they have too high of expectations of us? 
- what if we made a good impression in the little time we've had together, and the "real johnson's" really let them down? 
- what if they have an expectation of what life and work will be like, and it ends up being completely different?
- what if it's not as "special" or "exciting" as they are expecting?

my list of what-if's goes on and on!

pray for us!  it's not going to be easy - but God is God. so it's time to trust Him and His plan.

pray for the davis family!  no matter the circumstances, moving to a foreign country with your young kids is not easy.  new language, new culture, and the surroundings of extreme poverty...  it wears you down.  the first 18 months are the hardest.  it will be a roller coaster.  excitement, home-sickness, fun, depressing, rewarding, etc - all wrapped in one.  pray for their endurance and strength. 

life is about to change.  we're excited!  but mostly, just thankful to be followers of Jesus.  thankful that life is full of changes.  and prayerful that the changes make us more like Him.