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Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Kisses from Katie {an excerpt}

When I was 19 I went on a missions trip to the country of Panama. We spent a week in training, a week in Panama City, a week in the villages, and a week in the Darien Jungle. I slept on a dirt floor that was basically outside (had one wall & a roof). We woke up to little children peering at us through our mosquito netting, on their way to school. We bathed in the river. We washed our hands & brushed our teeth with bottled water. We hunted, killed, cooked & ate our own alligator. We told the truth of Jesus & His love through interpreters. It was an amazing trip. Life altering. 

My husband spent several summers in Mexico as a teenager. "Go on a missions trip with Brad" is on my mental bucket list. I just think it would be awesome to experience that with him by my side.

All of that said, I have never particularly felt "called" to overseas missions. I believe everyone should at least consider going on a missions trip. I want my children to do it. It changes your life. But i have always felt just as called to doing missions work here, where i live.

I came across the book Kisses from Katie, but saw it was about missions, and that just isn't a subject that would normally get me to pick up a copy. However, one day in Barnes & Noble I did pick it up & start reading... and found that i really didn't want to put it down. I am more than halfway through it now & constantly wish i had a highlighter with me! It is so good! (And definitely wants me to get back to doing some missions work!)

I feel compelled today to write here what she wrote in her own journal about the saying "God will never give you more than you can handle." It is the BEST & TRUEST explanation of the phrase, in my opinion. I definitely relate this to what i am going through with infertility, but I believe any of us could relate it to any major struggle we are facing.

ONE DAY
by Katie Davis

"Remember, God will never give you more than you can handle." 

People repeat this frequently. I heard it when i was growing up and i hear it now. It is meant to be a source of encouragement, and it would be if i believed it were true. But i don't. 

I believe that God totally, absolutely, intentionally gives us more than we can handle. Because this is when we surrender to Him & He takes over, proving Himself by doing the impossible in our lives.

This past year, God has given me 8 more children than I can handle. He has given me an impossible number of dollars to raise to meet this need that He placed on my heart. He has asked me to do things I thought would surely break me.

God gave me a family and a home that I didn't expect, and once I had completely fallen in love with them, I had to leave. I thought these four long months apart from my children would certainly be impossible to bear, and while they have at times been excruciating, they have been blessed and even beneficial. And in just a few short days they will be over! I will be reunited with my darling family; we did it! 

During these four months, friendships that I could not have imagined have developed. I have been loved and served and helped by the most wonderful people. I have grown and fallen even deeper in love with my Savior. And we have raised money needed for the coming year. 

I have learned to accept it, even ask for it, this "more than i can handle". Because in these times, God shows Himself victorious. He reminds me that all of this life requires more of Him & less of me. God does give us more than we can handle. Not maliciously, but intentionally, in love, that His glory may be displayed, that we may have no doubt of who is in control, that people may see His grace and faithfulness shining through our lives. 

And as I surrender these situations to Him, watch Him take over & do the impossible, I am filled with joy & peace - so much more than I can handle."    

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