Every Nation and Backroad

Have you ever sat yourself down and asked, what is my mission for this life? Or even, what are my goals? If you are like me, then you have mulled over this thought a million times as the seasons of life come and go.

In high school, I remember having this thought driving down the road, “I know I feel called to overseas missions…I don’t know how I will get there, but I do feel called.” You know what is so crazy? A few months later, God faithfully coordinated me to go to a new church at my new college, meet the right woman that eventually signed me up for a mission trip overseas. You know what was even crazier? It was the exact region of the world I desired to be at, ministering to the exact people group I so desperately wanted to talk to. How could you say this was anything but God ordained? You honestly couldn’t. His hand was clearly orchestrating my life and I was so amazed. It is such a beautiful feeling when your heart’s desires align with what God has called you to.

Fast forward some time later, I met a guy. The greatest guy I have ever known, and we had been dating for a while and things were getting serious. I was at the time overseas for a few months and he was training for the military. Not too long afterwards he asked me to be his wife, and we got married this past August. He is in the military, so our life will be moved to and fro by the orders of the Army, and guess what that means? No full time overseas missions for us, or at least not any time in the next decade. A question I have really had to toil with is, “Why would God place this huge desire for overseas missions in my heart, place a guy in my life that speaks my favorite regions language (forgot to mention that-but how cool?!), lead me to marry this amazing man, but take away the opportunity to go overseas full time?”

I think the answer is rather simple actually. I had narrowed down my life’s purpose to one specific region, one people group, and one motivation. Don’t get me wrong, having the intent to share the Gospel with specific people is awesome and God gives those desires for a reason. However, the Lord’s calling for my life changed. I now understand everywhere is my mission field, and the same is true for you.

I remember right before Patrick and I got married, he was being assigned where we would be moving to for the next couple of years. His first choice was Fort Campbell, Kentucky. I selfishly said to the Lord, “anything but Kentucky, God…I think Germany would be a better choice.” Not surprisingly, I woke up the next morning to scroll Facebook and an article appeared on my timeline called, “We Need Missionaries in the Backroads of Kentucky too.” Well, now I knew where I was going.

So, fast forward to today, we are moving to Kentucky in March. Sharing the Gospel in the backroads of Kentucky may not be as glamorous as sharing the Gospel overseas, but God has ordained it. He ordained this season of my life just like he did the last one and the one before that. My friend has a quote hanging above her door as you exit her room that reads, “You are now entering your mission field.” Our mission field is truly everywhere. It is where God has placed you at the moment, because that is where He has called you to be.

My life is heading in this direction now, but it isn’t really my life. As a Christian, I am simply the Lord’s vessel for His glory. He has deemed Kentucky to be where He can receive the most through me and Patrick, so we will go and we will rejoice! I am eager to see all that the Lord has prepared before us, and to share the good news just a few states over.

“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:9-11