Provision

Isn't it interesting how sometimes nothing goes like you thought it would go, but things still seem to work out so perfectly--like they should have in the first place? Along this whole journey, we have hit several speed bumps that might have de-railed our plans altogether, but as we continue to forge ahead we can see the way that God is continually providing for us and meeting our needs.

Provision comes in many different ways. It can be as simple as a basic need being met, such as daily food or drink. It can be a complete supply of a basic need. It can also indicate that an arrangement or preparation was made beforehand so that the doing of something, the meeting of needs or the supplying of means can be made.

One way that I specifically see this provision is in the leadership that we are blessed to have at Mayfair, the place where our family worships. When we "randomly" moved to Huntsville almost 8 years ago as a young married couple we had no idea just how much God was going to work through "our" crazy plan. We thought that we had just come up with a fun place to move with some friends and see how it went. Eight years later, and with 20/20 hindsight, we see that our roots started growing almost immediately and God started growing some amazing relationships for us here.

We have grown to love our friends here deeply. We love the ministries that we spend our time working with. And we love the elders who humbly lead and guide our church family. We have seen so many examples of their servant attitudes and wisdom through various situations and decisions over our time here, and we have developed such a respect for those men. We knew that we were more than comfortable asking them to be our overseeing eldership who would offer us spiritual guidance while we served in the mission field.

When we decided to follow the call to Honduras, we started conversations with the elder who oversees Missions at Mayfair. He was excited about our story and over the next several months we developed a relationship with the Missions Committee as our plans started to fall in place. Even before our move has taken place, we have felt the commitment that our elders have to helping us make decisions that are in our family's best interests.

There are times that following wise leadership is difficult, because wisdom comes from a different perspective than ignorance or inexperience. Already, we have reaped benefits from following their counsel that was difficult for us to swallow. We're young, excited and naive. We're new to this stuff, and our leaders have lots of experience and wisdom to share with us. That's a huge blessing to us, but it's also difficult and I can tell that this is an area that we will have to grow.

We thought we were being 'young and free' when we moved here, but I am convinced that God knew what He had in store for us when he led us to Huntsville and to Mayfair. Even through difficult times our needs have been met. He has showered blessings on us as our family has grown here. God has blessed us with an amazing church family here, and God has blessed us with strong, godly leaders who love us and support us.

I don't know how you feel, but I'd say that's provision.