There was a time that I would refer to my family as My Wandering Family. From the time I got married in July 1993 until the end of our military days in August 2018, we moved around 15 times. Trying to keep things consistent for our four children amidst the many moves, transitions, and deployments of their father was my main purpose as the Mom, and we learned to adapt to many different types of environments together over the years.
With each move, a couple of my children made friends quicker and adjusted fast, while the other two would take longer and struggle more emotionally with the changes, but we all increased our abilities to be resilient in whatever would come our way. I expect that there is a good reason that the flower of the military child is a dandelion, because my military children became pretty good dandelions in those years. Dandelions grow in any environment with a resiliency that far surpasses most flowers, and when they go to seed, they are scattered by the wind and carried long distances to grow in new places.
As Jesus followers, we need that same resiliency as a dandelion and a military child. We need to be able to grow in any environment, with the goal of having our testimony turn into a seed which will be scattered by the winds to grow in new places all around us.
In the Bible, believers were scattered during times of persecution over the church. In Acts 8, after Stephen was martyred for his faith, the waves of persecution that swept over the church in Jerusalem were documented for us as a source of inspiration. In those days, many people began to believe the Good News about Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God as those who were scattered shared their experiences and excitement about Jesus.
As much as we flourish in community and relationship with others as we strengthen each other’s faith, there will come a time soon in which Christians will be SCATTERED in persecution. May we all be ready and prepared with skills to be resilient and to adapt to our new environments in the days to come. Holy Spirit can equip us immediately with the ability to grow anywhere, but we can develop our patience as we learn how to better withstand and recover from difficulties as we become better at keeping our focus on Jesus alone.
We would be wise to shift our mindset in the days to come, so that we can see the purpose of being scattered in persecution as Christians. Just as my children needed to shift their mindsets about moving to different states, countries, and communities as something that they could find a blessing in, we must be eternally thankful for the difficulties that are to come since we can be assured of God’s plan and ultimate authority.
HOW RESILIENT WERE YOU WHEN YOU FACED YOUR MOST RECENT BIG TRANSITION IN YOUR LIFE?WHAT COULD YOU HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY?
HOW DID YOU SEE GOD’S PRESENCE?