The last and the first.

We are in the middle of experiencing a lot of ‘lasts’. We went to our last soccer tournament, last track meet, last trip to the beach. Soon we will have our last day of school, last night in our house, last service at Brook Hills. The list goes on. This has been home for seventeen years and soon it will be a memory. It would be easy to fixate or at least lament on the past or we could continue to be driven by the Great Commission and look forward. Around the corner there will be a series of ‘firsts’.  I really wish I could list them but… I’m not really sure of what they will be. Joan and I made the decision to move to Ecuador 14 months ago. It was the right decision and we are following through. We are going with no preconceived notions or expectation on anyone. We are naive and it will be hard, but we are looking forward to it. Things will look differently in a year than they do right now. But for now we are open to the insecurity, unknown, and mistakes around the corner.  I could worry about it, but I can’t change any of the things I would worry about, so I choose not to. We are getting as prepared as we can and getting advice from others, but we know at the end of the day God will lead us. By his grace and for his glory. 

For our kids I am praying for the craziness of the summer vs. the normal transition we would have had.  This would have been a summer of change anyway with KB headed to college, but throw in a move to Ecuador and you have few more ingredients for stress. They are going to miss each other and they know it. “What about the kids?” is a question we get from time to time. Actually their approach to all of this brings me a good deal of comfort. When I hear them communicate to people about the details of our move they have a confidence in the purpose and an understanding of the situation. I know we will have those moments when they question the sanity of their parents but, hey, that happens now. Other than the dread of getting more shots at the doctors office there has been zero apprehension on their part. In fact I think the main encouragement for me right now comes from their trust is us. Scary, I know. 

And then there is my bride. Some describe marriage as an event where you walk down the aisle filled with desires and you leave the altar filled with expectations. I am thankful that Joan has maintained her desire to honor God in all she does. We are best friends and teammates. In an evolving world she is steadily moving the Gospel forward in her work, home and life. She will have the biggest transition of all. In an ‘English only’ school she will be taking on the task of teaching a room full of preschoolers who do not speak English. A pretty daunting task but she has been the ‘kid whisperer’ for a long time. I can’t wait to see how God uses her.

Thanks for being a part of the journey. For the notes of encouragement and the prayers. Pray for my part of all of this. Here we are three weeks away and I see my role for the next few months as simply serving my family through this time. I don’t pray for ‘big’ things to happen in ministry, I am praying for ‘good’ things to happen in and around us. I’m praying we recognize the ministry opportunities no matter how small or insignificant and act on them. By his grace and for his glory.

rb

Posted by ronniebrockyall on May 19, 2012

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