Wherever He Leads

This summer, I have had the wonderful opportunity to work as a preschool camp director at a summer day camp. This means everyday is a combination of silly dance moves, colorful crafts and lots and lots of sharks and minnows. My days are filled with seeing life through a four-year-old’s eyes and discovering new ways to teach them big thoughts. Therefore, it seems only fitting to start off this blog by sharing a simple truth I learned from a camp song my kids know by heart. The song goes like this:

Wherever you lead me, I'm gonna follow; I'm trusting you God - YOU ARE GOOD!

Life could be crazy, wild and amazing; I'm trusting you God - YOU ARE GOOD!

These are simple words. Yet these are meaningful words. And this summer, these words have become my prayer and here is why...

Married life is hard. You realize all of a sudden you are an adult with adult responsibilities, adult expenses, and adult consequences. On top of that, you are learning to work and live with a whole person whom you love so much but who is so different from you. Add on a call to a foreign country, a baby blessing on the way, the loss of insurance, and the uncertainty of consistent work and life starts to feel a bit stormy. As the song says and my prayer echoes: Life could be crazy, wild and amazing. Lord, how do we navigate this crazy wild life?

Yet, it is in the storm that God reveals his goodness and my simple prayer remains: I’m trusting you God; you are good. And God IS good! So Good. Through the craziness of life he has revealed his goodness in so many ways. Like spontaneous wild berry picking dates, late night games with lifelong friends, and the feeling of accomplishment that comes after working through a conflict and learning something new. These are just a few examples of how God has given us so much joy through hard days.

Over the past few months, Tyler and I have decided to make the move from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin. Yes, it is a big move and also a little bit scary but there has been so much thought and prayer put into this decision and God is guiding us where he wants us to be. I found myself repeating: Wherever you lead me, I’m gonna follow. Wherever you lead us, God, that is where we want to be. In Wisconsin, Tyler will have a steady job in construction, we will have an affordable apartment, more time and resources to prepare for missions, and the blessing of family nearby. Also, we will be able to make enough money for me to spend most of my time at home with our newborn baby. Though we are leaving many things behind - family, close friends and a budding community to name a few - we feel God opening a door. So my constant refrain is: I’m trusting you God; you are good. That is all. Amen.

The camp song I taught my kids is simple. It is meant to be catchy and easy to remember. Yet sometimes in the simplicity of a song a complex truth can be discovered.

The truth is that God is good and always will be regardless of our situation. It is for this reason that we can trust in him. The goodness of God far exceeds the trials we are facing and we have only to hope in him and cling to his promises to realize that our greatest joy is simply to bring him glory.

But, this truth can be so hard to grasp and to believe in without wavering. Sometimes it is too complex for me and too difficult for me to understand. In these moments I am thankful for the grace and patience of our God and I go back to the simple song and take comfort in the words that I may never fully comprehend: I'm trusting you God; you are good.