We, as a family, have settled into our new home and surroundings, and absoultely LOVE this new life out in the countryside that the Lord has given us. We have to pinch ourselves sometimes that this dream really became a reality, and that this beautiful home is ours. It is crazy. Crazy good.
We have spent the last weeks unpacking and organizing, sanding and painting, weeding and pruning. We are getting ready for our girls. Preparing for their arrival.
Little did we know that He was going to prepare us in a different way--with our first long term guest.
Faith, I will call her, is the daugther of one my dearest friends. She is 23 and is from the States. Faith had heard about the house the Lord had given us, and emailed to ask if she could come and help us get settled in. She said "I just want to help you in any way I can. I'll cook, I'll clean, I'll paint, help with the kids, anything!" She was supposed to be here for two weeks. She will now be here for two months. About a week after she was here, we all felt like she was supposed to stay longer--until the work was done. Not the work we're doing on the house...but a Greater Work that He has been doing in her heart.
You see, Faith came here without faith or hope in our Living God. Although she grew up in a Christian family, she never accepted Him as her own. Rather, she rebelled, and wanted nothing to do with Jesus. Coming here, she still knew that she wanted nothing to do with Jesus--she simply wanted to help us. However, God had other plans for her.
The first night she was here, I asked her if she'd be open to reading a chapter of the Bible every day. We would read one chapter, write in our journals about it, and then come together each morning to discuss it. I felt very strongly that we should read Romans. She said yes. Not only did we read all of Romans; we have now read 1 Corinthians and are now reading Ephesians. This is HUGE, because up until her arrival here, Faith had never read God's Word; she'd had no desire for it. Now (to her surprise!) she loves it. These morning times have become dear to us, and the Lord has used His Word to challenge both of us and move us in ways we never imagined.
For the first time in her life,
Faith has HOPE.
Faith is not the same woman she was one month ago. It has been our honor to watch the Lord speak tenderly to her and to watch Him show her how big and good He is. She has come alive in front of our eyes, and we are simply grateful to be part of what He's doing in her.
But there's more to it. The Lord is using Faith to prepare our family for what it will be like to have a young woman living with us, 24/7. Will it really work to have a young woman live with us? Yes. Yes. Yes! It is all I'd imagined it would be and more. Faith and I are doing what I'd always envisioned I'd do with the women who come.
Here's an example of our typical weekday:
- After the kids are off to school, we start our day by going for an hour walk / jog in the countryside.
- We come home and study His Word for about an hour privately, then we get together and share our thoughts and pray together.
- Then we work on certain projects in the house until the kids come home from school--painting, gardening, cleaning, organizing (right now our main focus has been painting the girls' rooms). What I find especially poignant is that Faith has shared that as she/we do our work, it's like therapy for her. There's something about working hard, with purpose, that is healing to the soul.
- The rest of the afternoon we spend having fun with the kids, whether we play outside or bake cookies. Often one of us will take the kids while the other one continues to work and get something done for the house (there is much to be done around here!)
- My husband comes home around 5pm, and we have dinner together as a family. This is a special time for us, an important time of family fun and bonding.
- After the kids go to bed, at 7pm, it's alone time for my husband and I, while Faith goes and has some time to herself.
- Later Faith joins us and the three of us spend time together, talking about the ways God has been working in us...sharing our joys and struggles. There is much laughter. It is always a rich, good time.
Having Faith here is nothing short of wonderful. She has become part of our family. God has used our home and our family to help and bless her, and she, in turn, has been used by God to help and bless us.
This was my dream: this home, our family, and having a young woman be part of our family as she heals, comes to know Jesus, and comes to learn His purpose for her life. It's a dream come true already to have Faith here with us...
and this is just the beginning.
***Above photo was taken by Faith
on one of her "God Walks"
