My colleague Sarah recently commented that we should be “flexible and faithful.” Sarah and I are both mourning the fact that we are not serving alongside the family and friends we love in Rwanda right now. We had big plans for this summer.
God had other plans.
Hundreds of our readers have served at Hope Haven Rwanda. Thousands of you have traveled to a new culture to serve at other locations. You know what a significant step of faith it is to make a trip like this. But it is so worth it! When we step out to do something out of the ordinary, God meets us in special ways.
Every breath, every day is a gift from God, and He calls us to use every resource for His glory. As Saint Paul wrote, “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful” (2 Corinthians 4:2).
We are simply stewards. We are not owners. As Susan often says, “We are blessed to be a blessing.” Our money, our time, everything we own is a stewardship from God and we should use it instead of sitting on it. The Owner may have different plans than we have, and our job is to be flexible and to faithfully execute His plans.
Our trust in God’s providence allows us to rest in His care, even when we need to suddenly adjust our plans.
Our family had a fantastic day planned for Father’s Day this year. We were staying in Kimberly’s childhood home and were excited to travel about 60 miles north, to an iconic restaurant that she and her family visited when she was a child, uh…well…let’s just say many years ago.
After calling the day before to confirm they would be open, the entire family was excited to celebrate this special day together. The next morning, factoring in enough time for a lengthy wait for a table, we all enthusiastically headed out to our vehicle. Since we were traveling, and were staying alone in her childhood home, our vehicle was the only one available. After a frantic search for the keys, we realized that we had locked the keys inside the car the previous night. Yes, we could see them through the window. And, yes, the second set of keys was in there too.
The good news is that a locksmith was just a phone call away and he made it to the car…six hours later. It appears that Father’s Day morning is a bad time to call a locksmith in rural Wisconsin.
Needless to say, we never made it to the restaurant that day. Instead, we accepted the reality that, for whatever reason, we needed to stay home. So we tried to be flexible and faithful. In the end, it was a beautiful day with the family.
Obviously, this was a minor episode without much consequence at all, but it reminded me how quickly we get frustrated when our plans don’t work out the way we expect them to.
Whether the shift in your plans is large or small, may God give you the grace to trust in Him—as a “faithful and flexible” steward in this season.