our winter.

Did you know that winter is church-retreat-and-missions-conference time?

Well, it is for a lot of churches, and so we’re about to embark on a two-month whirlwind of visiting supporters (individuals and churches), teaching at a Senior High youth retreat (David, of course–but we get to tag along!), attending missions conferences.

I’m surprised by how excited I feel at the prospect. In October, just the thought of another trip sent me into a panic attack (literally). But it’s been three months since then. Three months in one house, three months in something of a routine. And now I’m ready to get back on the road for awhile.

For months and months I’ve wanted to write a blog post about our experience with support-raising and our experience working in a job that involves relationships with our supporters. I still plan to write that post, because it’s a hugely important part of our story.

But for now, I’ll just say this: we are incredibly blessed. There’s been a lot that has been difficult about our overseas experience, but support-raising has not been one of them. It’s been a pure joy, I mean it. We’re hitting the road tomorrow for 10 days visiting supporters in the southwest, and I’m so excited to be with all of them, to look them in the eye and say, “Thank you,” to ask how they’re really doing, to just sit together for a bit (or run around after our kids together for a bit).

I love our supporting churches. Visiting them, going to missions conferences has never, ever been a burden. I’m constantly and humbled and touched by the time they take to get to know us, to pray for us, to make their missions conferences a meaningful time when we are nourished and built up in God’s love.

God has used this process to bond our hearts together in a partnership to serve Him, and it has made David and I all the more excited about having a support role (financially and otherwise) in the lives of others.

Okay, I really will write about it more, because I also want to answer the question for you: “What if I can’t afford to financially support a missionary right now?” There are endless, creative options to partner, and we’ve been grateful for every single one of them.

For this moment, curled up on my beloved, cozy South Asia sofa, looking out at a gray January sky, sipping my afternoon coffee with two little people interrupting me every other sentence, I’m asking myself the question: How do I have a busy life and also an unhurried life?

I know all of us have different commitments and demands on our time–whole different seasons of life even, so there’s not a right or wrong answer. But the area I find I’m most tempted in is that of letting busyness keep me from truly connecting with David and my kids.

We’re going to be on the road a lot, staying with different folks, all four sleeping in one room at times. Often when we travel, David and I feel like ships passing in the night: Do you have the kids now? I’m going to run to the store with so-and-so, falling exhausted into bed late each night. My introverted self will get irritable with such little alone time, even as I’m trying to squeeze in every possible second with friends and family I rarely get to see.

When I get mired in my busyness, I get selfish and tired and I don’t stop and notice my family–the three people that mean more to me than anything in this world. I don’t pause to ask David how he’s doing, or if he wants time to go for a run. I don’t stop and sit with Amie on my lap and let her ask the countless “Why?” questions brimming in her little mind. I don’t put down my phone long enough to kneel eye-level and give Judah my complete attention.

So that’s what I’m praying for the next two months. I’m praying for our joyful, busy schedule, and I’m also praying for an unhurried heart that takes notice of my family, every day, right in the middle of it.

I’m very, very thankful that yesterday God provided us a second car, one with more space than our little Civic, one that will make our multiple road trips infinitely more comfortable.

I’m thankful for two kids who are bursting with excitement over the prospect of traveling and seeing new places and new friends.

I’m thankful for a job that, in this season, allows our family to spend lots of time together.

I’m thankful that we are homeschooling Judah so that we can all pick up and go with David at a moments’ notice.

I’m thankful for a home to come back to–a furnished home!

I’m thankful for so many ways God is taking care of us.