How comfortable are you right now, scale of 1-10? There’s no right answer here, or maybe there is.
Were human, we seek comfort from the day we are born. Placed on the chest of our birth moms, we crave food and warmth. We go on to seek equilibrium; struggling to stay right in the middle between the infrequent highs and dreaded lows. We search out a partner to love us, a home to protect us a career to support us, even a God to guide us. Surviving, at times thriving, then at some point, many points in our lives, we stagnate.
In that stagnation we start to feel uncomfortable, and so we fight harder to get back to the middle.
What if the key to gaining comfort is purposefully losing it?
What if we stopped running to comfort and ran the other way?
Discomfort births growth.
There is nothing wrong with wanting a simple, easy, calm life, except you will never get to the next level if you play it safe. And of course, there’s that little matter of your Jesus wanting you, needing you, to go bigger for Him.
Right now, on my to do list is sell my car, hand over my dog, and walk away from a very successful TV job so that I can go live in unknown conditions in Mexico helping strangers.
The logical parts of my brain and body are screaming at me to turn around. I’m purposefully draining my bank account, (and happily I might add, go read The Treasure Principal by Randy Alcorn. Game. Changed.) saying goodbye to all the creature comforts I’ve fought so hard to attain, (how on earth do I pack just two pairs of shoes and one face cream?) and…gulp…home schooling three reluctant children.
I’m beyond uncomfortable.
You know what, its fantastic.
Uncomfortable
It’s a great word to make your own.
In the uncomfortable comes blessed change. You’re being stretched and grown. If you can just stop fighting it. Allow yourself to feel the discomfort knowing God is literally transforming your life. Once you let go of the fight, you will be in the perfect place for Him to do His good work through you.
And oh, how His work is marvelous.
Try it.
I’m not saying you need to quit your job and be a missionary but what if in 2023 you stepped outside your comfort zone?
The more I sit in this loss - and that’s what it is, a loss of identity (QVC host) income (paycheck) control (picture of the future) - the more I hold the feelings of fear and excitement together. Because I know God is doing HUGE things in me, for Him, and then, I’m more able to change those feelings of dead, to feelings of excitement.
You want that. I know you do. You want God to work through you, but you can’t do that going through your life, as an infant seeking comfort above all.
It’s time to grow up.
And it’s okay to be a little selfish in this too. Lean into the change, knowing, believing, declaring, God is going to reward you greatly. Where you land will be so far beyond, from where you took off.
Where you are right now.
I know I am headed in the right direction and doing the right thing because even in my discomfort there is peace. No matter what happens, even the big bad scary things that people might worry about looking at my life and choice from afar, I know God will use it. And I have his peace about me. He has reassured me and opened every door along the way, even if it was an old door that at one point was painted shut. We’ve had to push a few of those open but He has always been the one with the muscle. I’m just following behind him basking in his majestic glow.
One last thought…. if there is a stirring in you, don’t ignore it. That’s the holy spirit. This dream to go serve has been over five years in the making. He kept on coming back to me. Whispering in my ear, meeting me in my quite time, showing up in emails and conversations. Once I finally got the message and decided we were going to do this no matter how crazy it seemed, the floodgates opened, and my world started to revolve around this next move.
Why?
Because God can do anything!!!
This hasn’t been of me; it’s been my ability to get out of the way and let Him lead.
These feelings of fear and discomfort aren’t God telling me to back out they are the evidence of a human having a God experience.
Get quiet, listen, look up, be ready.
You’re so close to seeing what goodness He has waiting on the other side of your comfort.
For those of you following along… We will be getting to the clinic by the 27th. The first two weeks we will be living on site getting acclimated to the minimal staff and surroundings and then we will move off site to our own home (closer to the beach of course because we are still @sandeverywherefamily.) We expect to be doing everything from building, painting, cleaning, to cooking, farming, running errands and helping support families during open clinic days. We are going to help host other church groups that come through, and my daughter is most excited to open a small tienda on site and make hoodies to sell for donations to the clinic. Weve been in intensive Spanish classes for the last three months and were praying for supernatural knowledge of the language. I’m also praying for a supernatural ability to homeschool – specifically math – for these three months. But I also know this life lesson in culture, humanities, Spanish, geography, and home EC is better than any school on earth.
Many have asked how to help. My prayer is that everyone will consider donating in our name to this ministry. I'll be posting details shortly, We are taking care of everything we need. The Lord has and will provide abundantly, but we know the mission is in need, and your donations can help the community, the kids, and the US based missionaries who can’t continue this humanitarian work without you. Pray on it, and I'll be back in touch.
God bless and thank you.
xoxo
Kerstin