This round without Joel has been stretching. I am living by just trying to make it through one day at a time. There have been quite a few challenges that have added to a normally stressful life.
One in particular is a fridge that stopped working the first week. We went without refrigeration for one week. Luckily the freezer still worked and I had little in the fridge that went bad. However it was definitely challenging planning meals when I couldn’t keep anything good without freezing it. I spent last weekend researching our refrigerator and how to fix it, desperate for anything that could help (and yes this is WAY out of my comfort zone). On Sunday, with the help of a friend, we opened it up and saw what we could figure out. We cleaned out a few things and plugged things back in, hoping that we magically did something great. It worked that day, but in the morning the error sign appeared on the fridge screen. I was expecting that by the end of the day the fridge would be out again. However it managed to stay cold the whole day. That night Ethan thanked God for that day of refrigeration and prayed that God would grant us one more day. The fridge has remained cold just until today. The uncertainty has been a challenge to me as it adds one more complication to my life. I don’t know how long it will work and so I am not able to open or buy anything that I know might go bad if the fridge goes out. Yet tonight as the boys both prayed I was reminded of how God was using these challenges not only to teach me in my life, but also my children. They both have prayed to thank God everyday that our refrigerator worked that day and that they could drink cold drinks. They also took the time to ask God to provide us with one more day. This circumstance has reminded us that God is the one who provides for our daily needs and to be thankful for even the little things that we often take for granted.
The challenges of life are still there, but it is helpful when I can see strands of the positive aspects weaved throughout. So I have decided this week to focus not on the challenges that seem to be flooding my way, but the little reminders that they bring of truths that God would like me to hold on to. I am hoping this perspective will help me to make it through the last week ahead of me.
Ways You Can Join Us In Praying
- Pray that our fridge would work until Joel gets back
- Pray for me and the boys as we are exhausted and warn out
- Pray for Joel as he has one more 4 or 5 day trip out to a group of villages. They have faced their fair share of challenges as well.
- Pray for Endurance – ONE MORE WEEK!
Pray that we would search for those reminders even when they are difficult to see
Makes me think of mana that was one day at a time but always there:) May you fridge be the mana for today.
Thank you for sharing ways we can pray for you. You are nearly daily in my prayers but having concrete concerns helps me to be better focused in my prayer life. Thank you to for sharing the boys faith and Praise God that he heard their young prayers and the refrigerator continued working. Hallelujah!
Thank you for being so transparent and sharing your life and prayer requests.
Hugs,
Jeannette
And here it was 10 degrees this morning! I’m reminded of how when Jamie was in Tajikistan that they put things away in the fridge that they didn’t want to freeze if left on the counter, INSIDE the house!
Strength, stamina, perseverance, endurance, and peace in this last week.