Comfort, Contented Thankfulness, and a Burning Desire

Life is certainly comfortable where we are right now.

A nice church family, a great pastor, good jobs, close family, fantastic friends, a great prayer group, an awesome Bible study…yet, despite all these good things, we have felt the tug to leave it all and move back to the big city for sometime.

I think others see it too. A few weeks ago, at Bible study, someone mentioned that we should move to Burnaby because of our views on outreach…we kinda looked at each other and chuckled…and just yesterday it became a reality.

We are really going.

The Lord willing, we’ll be moving in the first couple of weeks after Christmas.

Wow.

“Why would you give up a nice house, on a quiet family oriented cul-de-sac full of Christian neighbours to downsize your home and move into the unknown?”

“Why would you leave the comfort of family and friends close by to move to a different city and church where you know hardly anyone?”

“The routine is set, the kids have friends, you are comfortable, why would you do this now at this stage of life?”

Those are the questions that rolled through my head all day yesterday. And I had a restless sleep as I thought about what needs fixing before we sell ( or do we rent?)…electrical, new hot water tank, paint etc. etc.

“Are we crazy? Are we doing the right thing?”

I am sure a lot of people don’t get it. I am sure some are thinking this decision is about making more money – it really isn’t. While we will be making a little more than we are right now…do you know how much housing costs out there compared to here?

Ultimately this move is about our family vision. Do you have a family vision?

About 3 years ago we started the conversation about doing more for God. It was a strange thing, it was as if the more we grew in our relationships with Christ and the more we became content in him and where we were in life…the more we wanted to do for him. Some people have said that we should just be content in the situation in which God has placed us. Be faithful in the little things. Be thankful. Well, we are… but within that contented thankfulness is this burning desire to do so much more for God.

It is that burning desire which fuels this blog.

It is that burning desire which fuels Teresa to lead women’s bible studies.

It is that burning desire which pushes us out of our introverted comfort zones to do things we normally wouldn’t do, like prayer groups and study groups and speaking to groups of people and unbelieving friends about the gospel.

It is why I am slowly plugging away at my pre-seminary studies.

It is that desire which caused us to begin considering a way in which we could move back to the big city to be involved in Church plants, and outreach and evangelism.

“But what about your children? Isn’t it better to raise them where they are?”

Well, our goal as parents is not ultimately to raise smart kids.

It is not to raise well behaved kids.

It is not to raise kids who fit the mould of what anyone would have them be.

It is not our goal as parents to raise kids who will just blindly follow the pack and fit in and not know why they do what they do.

It is not our goal to make them as comfortable as possible. That is a nice perk, but our goal as parents is to raise kids who love God with all their hearts, souls, minds, and strength, and who love and care for others above themselves.

The vision I have for my family is ultimately based on Luke 10:30,31. We want to be a family who puts Jesus Christ before anything else. I want to raise kids who love God and their neighbour, and will go to any length to serve Him.

What is your family vision?

Do you have one?

Or are you doing like we did for so long, simply settling for a vision that is small, that is comfortable, that is expected of you?

For so long we chose the easy option, the fit in option, the comfortable option because we didn’t really want our lives to count for eternity. We simply wanted to be comfortable and to be liked. Yes, God certainly does call us to be faithful in the little things, in the moment where we are everyday…in changing of diapers and in being faithful spouses, and in being good neighbours and all of those routine things. But we asked the question, “Is that our only calling, or are we just afraid to hope and ask for anything more?”

Are we willing to lay it all down and follow him?

Are we willing to bear up our crosses and follow him?

I realize this stuff reveals how “un-Canadian-Reformed-cookie-cutter” we are as a family. And that is ok. We don’t all have to be replicas of each other. Do you have the desire to do more for God? If so, what is holding you back?

Anyway.

I am both excited and nervous. It is going to be a very hectic 3 weeks coming up especially with Christmas coming up.

A new home, new school, new job, new church family…

As I type this post on my laptop in the home I have lived in in for the last 9 years, I cannot help but think about how comfortable I am.  Really.  But we don’t grow in our comfort zones.  As the old saying goes, “A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are made for.”  

I guess we are setting sail into the wild blue yonder. But that is OK,  I know who our captain is.

SDG