Daily Devotion: 3 Days til Guatemala

Daily Devotion from Terry:

May 31 - Setting an Example

Proverbs 22:6 "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."

I said in a couple of devotionals that people often ask me why I do this, but that is not the question I am asked the most. I am most often asked why I do this to my family. Why do I leave my son to travel around the world doing missions work? Why do I sometimes expose him to the potential dangers of the mission field by taking him with me? Why do I leave my husband for this? Those are questions that I wrestled with for a long time, even before our son came to our family.

What kind of parent do I want to be? Do I want to be one that tells my child to follow the Lord, but not follow hard after Him with my own life? Do I want to be the kind of parent that tells him how important it is to love and serve others, but not live it myself? Do I want to be the kind of parent that tells him about the saving grace of Jesus and how others need to hear, but not be bold enough to proclaim it here and around the world? Do I want to tell him to "Go," but not go myself?

If you are leaving your children and/or your to take this trip, I know what you may be feeling. Guilt. Fear. Sadness. I know because I have felt that way too often when leaving one or both of them. The enemy goes to great lengths to make us doubt the path the Lord has set for us.

If you are bringing your children with you, I also know what you may be feeling. Fear. Uncertainty. Are they ready for a trip like this? I know because I have felt the same things. The first time I brought our son back to Guatemala after his adoption, I was terrified. I was afraid for his safety and didn't know how he would handle all that he was going to see and experience.

Over time and with much prayer, I have come to believe that it does not matter what others think about our decision to go to the missions field with or without our children. What matters is the story that is being written with our lives and the example we are setting for them. I live the life I want my son to one day live. It doesn't matter if he never leaves the U.S. as an adult or if he becomes a full time missionary in the most dangerous place on earth. What I want is for him to grow into a Godly man that loves and serves and shares all he can. I am not just telling him the way he should act and what he should do in life. I am actively living it out for him to see and often bring him with me now so that he can experience it first hand. I am not using someone else as an example for him to follow. I am setting the example myself.

Whether you are leaving your children and spouse in the U.S. or they will be with you in Guatemala, you are teaching them one of the greatest lessons of their lives. You are teaching them to follow the Lord. They are watching how we live, so let's live with purpose.

Father, thank you for the precious children you have entrusted to us. You brought them into our lives and have given us the responsibility to be an example of the people you want them to grow up to be. Whether they are with us during this trip or not, use this time to speak into their lives about how to love and serve others well as you continue to teach us how to best parent them. Guard their hearts and minds as they grow and draw them close to you, revealing the path you would have them take in this life.

Terry Carr Bracey
Co-Founder and Executive Director
Across All Borders