Living Radically

Nearby Volcano Fuego putting on a show the last few days…photo courtesy of Kathlyn Beyer.

When we set out for Guatemala, we set out with the intention to let God provide in ways to make him BIG to us and our kids. It’s so much easier thought than lived. We watched God provide a means for us to live here without our asking for one single dime. He was so BIG, back then. 

It’s amazing how with time, we start to forget. Me more so than Britt. It took a crisis in our marriage for me to be reminded to live by faith for each and every step. The world’s pull to plan and save and have all of our ducks-in-a-row can overwhelm me at times. Mainly, because it’s in my nature to be a control-freak with money and how it’s used. 

The other night when we came to our crisis, Britt reminded me. Why have we been reading all these books about famous and not-so-famous missionaries, like George Mueller, Brother Andrew and Bruchko if it isn’t to remind us of our original mission? The constant battle I fight within is how far do we go with this? Is there a point of foolishness? 

What I remember from our original radical intention was a knowledge of God beyond anything I’d ever known in the past. And when you learn to trust God like that, it effects your relationship with your spouse, your kids, and everyone around you. It’s contagious and other people want to experience it too. This is one of the reasons we devour those missionary books. 

So today, our car is sitting in the shop. We’ve had that a lot lately. I believe last week my reaction would have been impatience, frustration and possibly even despair (actually, it was when the car didn’t start two or three mornings in a row). But this week, after my initial urge to scream, complain and cry in fear and anxiety, I heard that voice in my head reminding me that God’s got this. We are given another chance to see how BIG He really is. 

Speaking of our car, Britt had a conversation with Pastor Jorge here last week about our good ol’ truck. Jorge told him he’s praying God will provide us with a newer vehicle. I kinda chuckled when I heard this. I think he gets tired of our car not working too. We all love our truck. It’s old and it has issues because it’s old. But it is awesome in this country on the rugged roads and steep mountains. And it’s old cracked leather seats are amazingly comfortable. When Britt asked Jorge why he thought we needed a new truck, he said it was because we deserve something better. Bahaha! I think he realizes by now what we gave up to come here. But maybe not so much why. He said we use it so much for our ministry, never expecting to be compensated for its use and its wearing out. Hmmm…pretty sure it was already worn out when we got it. I guess we’ll see how God shows himself BIG to Jorge. 

It’s so easy to listen to those voices that tell you to take the safe path. We hear and read them every day. But Britt often reminds me and others of a comment someone once made about living radically (by faith), “That’s nice to read about and all, but no one actually does that.”