Bittersweet Times in North Carolina

It is bittersweet to be back in North Carolina. There are so many memories here from when our large family (or what we thought was large at the time) moved to the south. At the time, we only had seven children. We set out from Oregon on an amazing journey and made the first (of what would later be numerous) cross-country road trips.

We have good memories here in North Carolina along with memories of times of pain and suffering. Our God though is a God of healing and a God of redemption. It is amazing to see how the Lord ties everything together in our lives for His greater purpose. As Paul tells us in Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

It has been close to ten years since we lived in North Carolina, but it feels like yesterday. Since then, our family has doubled in size. We only actually lived here for a couple of years, but we then travelled back and forth quite frequently and even spent a month or more at a time here a couple times a year after we moved back to Oregon.  One of our daughters went to Duke Children’s Hospital each year. The medical care in this part of the country is impressive.

When we lived here though, it was difficult to be so far away from all of our family and friends. It was also difficult simply to adapt to the cultural differences, but as soon as we met our neighbors Pam and Gary Haywood, we suddenly had friends that became like family to us and to our kids. There were still challenges that came our way, but having close friends to lean on was a blessing. My aunt in Oregon passed away after a very long illness and shortly after that my dad died as well.  My mom was then re-diagnosed with cancer. I was frequently either flying back on my own or traveling back in our big white 15-passenger van with all the kids. We were torn between feeling like we needed to stay in North Carolina where Ron's work was and Julia's hospital was and needing to be near my mom to help her through her treatment.

And honestly, living in the South compared to the Northwest with our family dynamics took a toll on us. It was hard on our kids to experience the degree of discrimination we encountered and it was hard on family to not feel accepted. Looking back at it now, I see our years in North Carolina as incredible growing experiences. Sometimes God places us in the fire to refine us for greater things in the future. Once we have been there, it is then easier for us to deliberately step into traumatic circumstances (such as living and serving in Haiti) without it being so traumatic. Plus we are forced to rely on Him instead of getting caught up in what people think or feel. It may seem uncaring, but I do not care as much about what the neighbor thinks or how someone looks at us as I did ten years ago. I did love and serve the Lord ten years ago, but I also desired acceptance. "But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you." Psalm 39:7

Now though, acceptance would be nice, but it is not a focus in our lives. We need to understand and accept that when we walk with the Lord, that path will have many bumps along the way. Many people will not understand why we do what we do. Many people will even try to get us off the path we are on and convince us that we are walking the wrong way. 

As a family we have read Pilgrims Progress many times. Just this last year, Miss Beth (co-founder of Mt. Top Ministries) brought over the movie of the story. It's been a good reminder of how many seemingly harmless things can temp us along the way in this journey of walking with the Lord. We continue to pray daily that we will walk the path the Lord calls us on regardless of how scenic it is (or isn't), regardless of whether it appears to make sense to ourselves or others, regardless of whether it is difficult, regardless of whether it is full of challenges upon challenges. We continue to pray for the joy within the suffering instead of asking God to take away the suffering. "I have  told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33