Jackie's Journey "What's the Prize?"

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run,

but one receives the prize?” I Cor. 9: 24

Are you the proverbial “Soccer Mom?”  Maybe it’s baseball…tennis…?

Monday nights are game nights on T.V in many homes across America. We put our children in team sports almost before they can walk, let alone kick a soccer ball!  We hear the competitive nature of the game as parents stand and shout encouragement at players and periodically yell at the officials.   The philosophy of how a game should be played is wrapped up in the words “the most important thing is winning, not how you played the game!”

Whether it’s sports, academics, the best school, the best clothes,

or the best… whatever…

it’s important that our children catch God’s perspective, not the worlds.

A WINNER…

…makes time

says, “Let’s find out”

…empowers

says, “If it is to be, it’s up to me”

…is not afraid of losing.

          …wants to, not ...has to.

…is part of the solution.

          …does it.

…makes commitments.

…works harder than a loser.

     …learns from others.

…says, “I’ll plan to do that.”

…says, I’m good, but not as good as I

                               can be.”

                                       … listens.

…catches people doing things right.

   …says, “I was wrong.”

 ….says, “There ought to be a better

                                way.”

…sees opportunities.

…celebrates with others.

…feels responsible for more than her

                                 job.

…translates dreams into reality.

…expects success.

A LOSER

…wastes time.

…says, “Nobody knows.”

…controls.

…says, I can’t help it.”

…is afraid of winning.

…has to, not...want to.

…is part of the problem.

…talks about it.

…makes promises.

…is always “too busy”.

…resents others.

…says, “I’ll try to do that.”

…says, “I’m not as bad as a lot of other

                people.”

…just waits until it’s his turn to talk.

…catches people doing things wrong.

…says, “It wasn’t MY fault.”

…says, “That’s the way it’s always

                been done.”

…sees problems.

…complains about others.

…says, “I only work here.”

…translates reality into dreams.

…expects failure.

(Family Circle – Words to Live By 1997)

Sacrificing whatever it takes to win… your example,  your integrity, compliance with a coach who says “trip the kid in front of you”…breaking the rules…whatever it takes.  Winning is the objective.  “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” I Tim.4: 8 

Teaching our children the true definition of winning is often by-passed on the altar of “me first winners!  Losing is not an option.

Don’t misunderstand me.  Team sports are a part of our American heritage.  Just don’t miss the importance of genuine winning found in an eternal goal…   “…Straining toward what is ahead. Pressing toward the goal to win the prize…” Phil.3:13

What prize?

How do you define winning?

Are you a winner?  Or are your goals temporal?

What do your children see you seeking?

“A man’s steps are directed by the Lord.  How then can anyone understand his own way?” 

Pro. 20:24  

God has a plan for our success.  It stretches beyond our view.

How can we think apart from His purpose??

God has called us “heavenward in Christ Jesus.  All of us who are mature should take such a view of things (our view should include an eternal perspective)  And if, on some point you think differently, that too, God will make clear to you.” Phil. 3:14   Competitive sports show us the importance of setting a goal and straining to reach it!  Binding ourselves to His plan (spending eternity with Him) and continually pushing forward toward Christ for His equipping us, as wives, mothers, parents, teachers and examples make us winners.  His empowerment is the prize. 

We are not programmed to get the job done apart from Him.

Do your children have this view?

For when the One Great Scorer comes,

To write against your name,

He writes not that you lost or won,

But how you played the game.

Anonymous

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Daughters of the King Devotional"

Look what"s NEW!

 DAUGHTERS OF THE KING DEV0TIONAL

is written with your Princess in mind! 

Daughters of the King Devotional is written for little girls who want to live like princesses.  This delightful book will help your little princess engage in Scripture and open her heart to God, as you join her in reading at night while being tucked into bed, in the morning devotion times or anytime.

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "I Hate Flaws!"

Welcoming our failures and flaws, as friends, is a foreign concept,

but it is the key to genuine spiritual growth… Jas.1: 2

This was one of the most beautiful clay pots in my garden.

There is a story told of a water bearer in India who had two large pots, each hung on the end of a pole, which he carried across his neck.  One of the pots was perfectly made and never leaked.  The other pot had a crack in it; and, by the time the water bearer reached his master’s house, it had leaked much of its water and was only half full.  For a full two years, this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his master’s house.  Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.  But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. 

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one-day by the stream.  “I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.”

“Why?’ asked the bearer.  “What are you ashamed of?”

“I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house.  Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work and you don’t get full value from your efforts,” the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, “As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.”  Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path and this cheered it some.

But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load and so again the pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.  The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side?”

That’s because I have always known about your flaw and I took advantage of it.  I planted flower seeds on your side of the path and everyday while we walked back from the stream, you have watered them. 

For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table.  Without your being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty grace his house!” 

Each of us has our own unique flaws.  We are all cracked pots.  But if we allow it, God will use our flaws to grace His table.  In God’s great economy nothing goes to waste.  Don’t be afraid of your flaws.  Acknowledge them and you, too, can be the cause of beauty. 

 Sometimes it is easier to focus on our flaws, not realizing that they are a reminder that “God’s grace is sufficient for us…His power is made perfect in our weakness.” II Cor. 12:9

Do you ever focus on your flaws?

Be thankful for the things you are not able to do, they remind you who’s your source of strength and power…CHRIST.

Know that in our weakness we find our strengths.

Years ago, a young girl named Jessica sent this little story to me.  Jessica is one of my girls from a discipleship class I taught in a local church for three years.  She continues bless my heart…

Thank you, Jessica…

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Whose Voice Is It?"

This past week, I was asked the same question by two very different individuals.  One… a young college student and the other…an older seasoned churchgoer.   The question was: “How can you tell the difference between God’s voice and Satan’s voice?”

Maybe you have been in an overwhelming situation,

where you asked yourself the same question.

God’s Voice

Stills you

Leads you

Reassures you

Enlightens you

Encourages you

Comforts you

Calms you

Convicts you

Satan’s Voice

Rushes you

Pushes you

Frightens you

Confuses you

Discourages you

Worries you

Obsesses you

Condemns you

I don’t know if this helps you, but it certainly gives clarity and definition to my understanding and what we need to be alert to in our daily walk.  Can you discern the difference between the two voices?

Do you talk to the devil? 

Don’t be too quick to answer, “NO...no, not me!”

The Bible uses the term temptation.  It’s that little voice that says,  “you don’t have to finish that job” or “there’s no policeman…you don’t have to stop at that stop sign” or “you said you’re going to diet”.  The little voice says, “Don’t start today…start tomorrow (that never comes!)”.

While living in the jungle I was often confused when listening to the two voices.  Having a witchdoctor in the village didn’t help.  Benito, the witchdoctor, was a man dedicated to his craft.  Ralph, my husband, would bribe him repeatedly with promised food if he would come and sit and listen to what the true God wanted to say to him… and he would refuse.  We prayed for Benito and months later he and his wife stood on our front porch!  Why I was surprised at God answering our prayers, I will never know!

Benito would return regularly for months and listen to the words God spoke to him.  We watched God convince him of his desperate need and of the true God and His power.  He came in one day with his sorcery “dolls” and handed them to Ralph, saying he had a new, more powerful God living in him and he didn’t need the dolls anymore.  His salvation was a powerful testimony to those living in the village.  He knew he was going blind and he purposed to memorize as many of God’s words as he could before total loss of his sight.

He heard the voice of God and walked the rest of his days,

listening to His beloved Savior.

Whose voice do you hear?

Do you listen?

 Let’s learn to use Satan for God’s glory…instead of the devil using us for his purpose!

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Look What's Coming...!"

This coming month, in October, The Princess Parable Series will be introducing their newest release.  Titled The Daughters of the King Devotional,, it will allow our five Princesses to share their hearts and what God is teaching them through His Word.  The Princess Parable Series is committed to building character and virtue into the hearts of children around the world.  Princesses Faith, Hope, Charity, Joy and Grace are blessed to be able to communicate with your little princess the character-building life-lessons they are learning.                                    

Faith in God makes all things possible.

Hope in God makes all things endurable.

Charity in God makes all things enjoyable.

Joy in God makes all things achievable.

Grace from God makes all things rewardable.

A Biblical worldview should influence all areas of life.  Articulating that worldview within our sphere of influence is what The Princess Parable Series is all about!  While surface problems (hate, murder, anger, addiction) attract media attention, they merely reflect and are symptomatic of the deeper need we have as people…the need for character!  Character determines our actions.  Character determines our responses, regardless of the circumstances presented to us in life.   It defines us and tells others who we really are!  Character is written on the heart of every person.  It is universal and transcends culture, race, age, social status, religion, gender and nationality. 

 Godly character marks the life of a true princess!!  For years Princesses Joy, Grace, Hope, Faith and Charity have been a large part of my life and I have grown to love each of them, as distinct and separate personalities, with unique engiftments and an adventurous story to tell.  They form a cohesive body of work that speaks to the need for early development of godly character in our little princesses in a pragmatic way they can relate to with Biblical terms attached. 

I recently read, “A dear old Quaker lady, distinguished for her youthful look, was asked what she used to preserve her appearance.  She replied sweetly, “I use for the lips, truth; for the voice, prayer; for the eyes, pity; for the hand, charity; for the figure, uprightness; and for the heart, love” (Jerry Fleishman). 

The Princesses are designed to inspire godly thoughts and actions.  The key of this wise “Quaker lady’s” answer and the challenge to us is to maneuver victoriously through this new day and its many opportunities… each revealing our TRUE character through our moment-by-moment responses! 

Join us in welcoming our newest release

The Daughters of the King Devotional!

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "The Hidden Letter"

Do you know what it means to be transparent?  “Transparency is so lacking today.  You and I feel we can’t be honest.  We have to protect ourselves, especially to hide any flaws we have.  We feel we have to put on our marks to say ‘Everything’s OK and I’ve got it all together and I’m doing just great.’  But people aren’t doing just great.  They aren’t OK and they don’t have it all together.

We hide.   We fear we’ll become targets…marginalized, criticized, victimized.”                           Ruth Graham, Beliefnet.com

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.                                                                       Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom                                          we must give an account.” Hebrews 4:13

We can hide from each other but we cannot hide from God.  Transparency is being honest before God and therefore honest with each other.  Then and only then can we grow together with God in righteousness.  Double-minded people attempt to live two lives…one projecting the image they want you to see and the other…the real you!   

Ask yourself…who am I… really?

1.     Does your family ever see you lose your temper?

2.     Do you complain about how others treat you?

3.     Do you demand prompt attention from family members, friends, teachers, and employers?

4.     Do you grumble when things do not work out the way you planned?

5.     Do you feel slighted when others get more attention than you do?

6.     Are you able to readily and quickly admit when you are wrong?

We can know our true identity when we “do not merely listen to the word and so deceive ourselves.  What good is it, if a man (woman) claims to have faith but has no deeds.  Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.”  (Jas. 1-2)

Walking our talk defines us as women of faith with a true single-minded image.  We are to “speak and act according as those who are going to be judged” (Jas. 2:12) and held responsible for a life well-lived with the blessing of being transparent or a life-wasted, living fearfully in the shadows.

The very thing that brings us to Him is the very thing that we fight the most!

Ø  Transparency/humility

Ø  Inconvenience

Ø  Trials/pain/suffering

Ø  Sacrifice/counting the cost

Ø  Denial of self

Ø  Total dependence on God

Ø  Forsaking all

Some of us have seen these truths in the Word for years, but somehow concluded that they were not for us, they were concepts to unpopular to consider or they were too complicated for the age we live in.  This call to be transparent had to be for someone else!  So we surrender to the chill of our spiritual environment!

True Christianity is an all out commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.                                                A total “walk your talk” life practice.

 Acknowledging our human fallibility is our qualification to relinquish our failure and receive His empowerment to live without the fear that we will become targets…marginalized, criticized, victimized.

 We are known by our fruit…

 “…You are a letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody…”! II Cor. 3: 2-3

 Do you think you can hide?

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Accidents Happen!"

Are you aware of the dangers around you?  Can you spot spiritual danger when it lurks in your life?  The amount of information we collect about any given circumstance or thing is dependent on our alertness.  Being aware of what is going on around us is a phenomenal task with the multitude of distractions we are continually confronted with.

We are living in an age where we live “tuned out” much of the time and “tuned into” a screen or earphones…

“Be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion,

walks about, seeking whom he may devour”.  I Pet. 5: 8

What happens if we fail to maintain vigilance or if our children are not alert to our instructions?  Pro. 1: 8   Have you listened to the news lately?  It is inconceivable the dangers we face from within and without!  Why…if we are not careful… we could become paranoid…

Take a look at this picture…

                                                             Now... close your eyes.

What did you see?  What kind of animal is pictured?  How many colors did you see?  What color is predominating?  What color is the birds beak?

Which direction is the parrot looking?  Was there a written text on the page?  What was the background color of the picture?  Green…Blue…?

How many did you get right?

How many of us would notice more IF

money had been offered for correct answers?

Concentrating on details that would otherwise be unobserved and taking note of them takes dedicated concentration!  Keeping attentive takes remarkable effort!!  We need to be aware of the events going on around us (and our children) so that the dangers they are facing, alert us to their need and we can correctly respond.

Recently, two cars were racing in front of me on our busy California freeway.  They were both enraged, cutting in and out of traffic, racing dangerously, dodging one another, until one car hazardously cut in front of the other car…loosing control…

Needless to say, every car on the road went into heart pounding…“instant ALERT mode”! Pryor to this encounter, I was enjoying the ride, happily singing along with the car radio…oblivious to the world around me.   I had let my guard down. I was not foreseeing possible dangers or the consequences that come from “sleeping at the wheel”.  This is not to say a little music is bad, but maintaining my focus is imperative.

Learning to pay attention to the lessons God is using to teach us through the things we can see and trusting in that same God, who sees the things going on around us, (that we cannot see) is key to our being vigilant.  Learning to foresee dangers and fully understand the consequences of our words, actions, attitudes and thoughts is a daily exercise that should continually demand our attention.

How are you doing at conquering distractions?

Be vigilant.

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Gripped by Fear!"

Since I mentioned in my last blog that there was “little time to fear”, I thought I should elaborate a bit…because that is not entirely true!  There is always time to choose between trust and fear!  Leaving for a foreign country is an unknown but leaving to live in the bush,  “completely off the grid” is another story!

In preparation for this missionary trek I found that “normal rights” that had become completely acceptable in my present environment were, in my new environment, challenging.  It started in Boot Camp.  Being newly married and living in a dorm and having a men’s and woman’s bathroom at the end of the hall was challenging, but that didn’t bother me.  Classes all morning and work detail in the afternoon, didn’t bother me.  The task of learning to live “almost off the grid” was demanding, but that didn’t bother me.  What did bother me was... I was pretty sure... what would be “coming down the shoot” in the next few months…!

The winters in Wisconsin are freezing cold.  While with our families over the holidays, I found out we were going to have our first baby, Christina.  Sometime after Christmas I started running a low-grade fever.  After a week or so I developed a cough.   I was young and physically strong so I kept our regular schedule.   Weeks went by and my symptoms became increasingly worse.  The fever spiked one night and I woke up laboring to breathe.  The prognosis…a serious case of pneumonia! 

Now… I did not plan on getting so sick.  I began to think about living in an inaccessible dense jungle and not having good doctors nearby.   What if the little one I was carrying needed emergency care?  What would I do?  We would be isolated... three days interior! 

Don’t we have a right to normal health and health care?

After taking the first series of anti-biotics, I was still running a fever and struggling to breathe.  I was started on another two-week regimen when the doctor commented,  “this prescription is much stronger and more invasive… it’s you or the baby…you have no choice…take it.”  Fear gripped me!  Could God protect my tiny baby?  I prayed for peace and protection for our unborn child. 

“Power and might are in your Hand, Oh God,

no one (or thing) can withstand you…IF

calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment

or plague or famine,

WE WILL stand in your presence and

WE WILL cry out to you in our distress and

YOU WILL hear us and save us.       

We have no power to face this

                                                          We do not know what to do

                                                          BUT our eyes are on YOU.”

II Chron. 20: 5-9; 12b

God-confidence is the gift He gives when we empty ourselves of “there must be something I can do!” and yield our will to God’s power!  Still learning, I am currently facing one of those moments when my will becomes subject to His. 

“Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or discouraged…there is a greater power with us… The battle is only the arm of the flesh, BUT with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.  Our confidence is in God.”    II Chron. 32: 7 -8

Are you ever gripped by fear?

“Whenever life’s burdens oppress you

And trials are too much to face

Remember God’s strength in your weakness;

He’ll give you HIS power and grace.”…Sper

Leaving the hospital with 1 day old Christina in Lebanon, Missouri…she arrived six months later...healthy and beautiful!

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Can We Survive without a Canoe?"

When I think about God’s faithfulness in what I can see, I am astounded at the thought of all I can’t see that is His work going on around me. Psa. 44:22   From the University, our marriage and call to missions, and Boot Camp Training…all were in preparation for the job He was readying us to do in the jungles!  An expectation is me, presuming on God with my engaged will (that I have not yet yielded to Him!).  That sense of entitlement can become a “ditch of despair” and reveals discontentment and a personal right that is being claimed.  It often exposes itself in anger.

Of course, all of this learning to give my expectations to God; to catch His vision and to harmonize with His plan was pre-field training for our time in the jungles of Panama.  And I had much to learn! On the practical side, we learned to plant and harvest, raise and slaughter animals, can what we raised and rustically prepare food, etc.  On the spiritual side, “seasoned” missionaries wisely taught us from the Word early each morning until noon.

Fall came and went.  After the long, hard freezing winter, spring came and summer brought six weeks of Survival Training in the thick woods of northern Wisconsin, where it rained three out of five days for the whole six weeks! The mosquitoes and spiders were larger and more aggressive than anything we ever encountered in Panama!

Part of the survival training was to become proficient in a canoe over some of the most dangerous rapids we had ever seen!  It had rained for twelve days and was still raining when we pushed our canoe into the hurtling current.  Macon and Katy Hare were just ahead of us.  Macon was a seasoned MK (missionary kid) and it seemed like a good idea that the city-slickers (us) would learn from the master.   As we were rapidly swept down the fast moving river, our canoe got too close to the shoreline and I screamed, “We’re going to swamp!!!”  Ralph instantly yelled back, “DUCK!”.  We looked up from the bottom of the canoe, only just gliding under a fallen tree!  Not seconds after that we see Macon successfully make it through the approaching gap between two mammoth rocks and drop down ahead of us.  As aggressively as we tried to steer clear of those rocks…they got us and we totally swamped.

When I surfaced, I could hear Macon yelling, "Get the canoe!  Get the canoe!"  I, frankly, did not care about the canoe...I wanted to get to shore!  Where was Ralph?  Searching the fast moving water, I saw him surface...and...oh, yes, there he was...he got the canoe!  No matter, this missionary woman was determined to get out of the freezing water and she did!  I stood watching Macon in the distance and my drenched and strong husband fighting the current to drag that canoe to the shoreline.

In survival camp, there was no contact or communication with the outside world.  There was no GPS and it prepared us for three-day river trips, many in rainstorms with fast moving currents in a dugout to reach our home among the Kunas in Pucuro.

On one journey upriver, Ralph threw a plastic over the girls and I to keep us dry; however, between the heat and humidity, the plastic fogged over and the makeshift sauna forced us to unanimously decide to enjoy the hammering raindrops.  Kim was just a few months old.  Her boot camp had already begun!

“And we know that all things work together for those who love Him,and have been called according to His purpose.” Rom. 8: 28

This walk down memory lane has been a reaffirmation of how God uses adversity… difficulty… challenging times to confirm our commitment to Him and to those He is preparing us to serve.

What challenge are you facing today?

Is your anger revealing your true spiritual condition?

God is forever going before us, making sure we are prepared for the next task or circumstance.  What a comfort to rest in Him, knowing nothing will ever touch us that has not already touched Him first.  We can survive without anything, except …HIM!

“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue

at the testing point.”  C.S. Lewis

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "...Ever Disappointed?"

I took a walk down memory lane this week!  I had forgotten about a colossal part of my story until I was reminded in a prayer letter from friends who went through this part of the journey with us.  It will take a few Monday mornings to get it in written form…so watch for the second installment on Monday of next week…

Shortly after Ralph and I surrendered our lives to missions, we found ourselves driving north from the University to Fredonia, Wisconsin to begin our boot camp training in preparation for ministry abroad.  As we approached our destination we could see miles and miles of farmland with quaint picturesque country houses and barns scattered here and there across the massive landscape.  It was beautiful.  It had the rural charm of yesteryear.  This city girl was enthusiastically taking it all in until…

 We exited our car as a woman moving in a great hurry met us!  She introduced herself and quickly instructed us to follow her to the over-sized basement of the adjoining property where we found several others involved in canning (?) countless fruits and vegetables from the garden they had just harvested! 

To my amazement, these experienced workers kindly assumed that I knew what they were doing and handed me a large spoon, told me “to skim the foam off the top” and with this one line of communication…they left me to it!   I took a quick survey of the assembly line they had formed in this large room and began to take note of what each person was doing to get to where I was.  I was one stop before the contents went into a sterile jar! 

Hours later, after being shifted to different stations, Ralph and I found ourselves carrying our suitcases into the two story building next door.  Relieved to be heading toward our new home for the next nine months, we commented on the unusually long hall and wooden floor.  Immediately, upon entering the building, we were led to the left, directly upstairs and into an 11 ft. x 18 ft. open room. 

Other families were arriving and our host quickly left us to settle in.  We stood in the nearly empty room and realized we were in a dormitory where we all used a men and women’s bathroom at the end of that long hall and any water needed for cooking would be hand carried down that same hall and then, disposed of in a well 100 yards behind our building!  I never realized how much water we used each day! 

After about two weeks, our little room became a welcomed sanctuary, as we began to process all we were learning.  As the semester came to a close, I found myself looking forward to Christmas break and a trip to California to be with family.  The day before we were to leave, Ralph, who NEVER gets sick, began running a high fever.  We woke up in the night to find he had turned into a chipmunk!  He had, somehow, contracted mumps!  That next morning, I stood at the dorm entry, distressed, waving good-bye to everyone in the dorm, as they threw their suitcases into the trunk of their cars and merrily drove out of the lengthy driveway to parts unknown.  I wished them well in my heart and resolved myself to gratefully caring for my very sick husband.  I had much to learn that day and the days that followed. God counted me VERY special that Christmas holiday!  My expectations were not as important as the lessons I would learn from being left behind.  I was to miss many Christmas’ with family over the years spent in Panama. 

Our introduction to Boot Camp was not what I had expected, the accommodations were not what I had envisioned and the scheduled Christmas break was not what I had planned.  My expectations had deceitfully left me in a ditch of disappointment.  Contentment was eluded on the altar of my pending rights!

Was this part of my journey what I had expected, envisioned or planned?  NOT!

Expectation + disappointment = Immaturity

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,

plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jer. 29: 11

 GOD had a better plan and His appointments often involve perplexing circumstances that are given with purpose to give us more light and to grow us up.  His vision for us is maturity.  His expectation is that we will harmonize with His plan and be the profitable servant He has called us to be for the cross of Christ.

Are you facing disappointments today?

 The manifestation of an unrealized expectation

is usually exposed by our anger! 

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.