Hungry, tired, excited . . .

April Fool’s! - by Cassie - 

I am married to a man who loves someone else more than me. . . 

and it’s a dude!

Yup, you heard it here first, folks. My husband loves Jesus more than he loves me. 

Did I get ya?!?

But I guess all’s fair in love and war, because I love Jesus more than I love my husband, too.

I am the wife of a missionary. 

If you are new to this blog, you might not know my family’s story of undeniable salvation, so here’s the gist: 

We were drowning in the slimy pit of addiction, co-dependence, self-pity, hate, anger, and mostly fear. (Although no one knew it, because we were excellent at looking “normal” during those horrid years. I’m still amazed by that.)

Psalms 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. (KJV)

We cried out to God, knowing that left to ourselves self-destruction was imminent.

He reached His mighty hand into our slimy pit, tenderly scooped up a sorry lot of lost and scared little humans, and relocated us into the shining light of his understanding, love, mercy, forgiveness, and grace.

Psalms 40:2 He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire.  He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. (NLT)

Today, April Fool’s Day 2018, is the 5 year anniversary of the day that my husband fell hard and fast for Jesus. The day that all that ‘church stuff’ melted away, and the actual Son of the Almighty God whispered in his ear, and I lost my husband to Jesus for real! 

Not long after that, my husband sold out completely. When I say sold out, that’s exactly what I  mean. Sold the car. Sold the business. Sold the stuff. 

That’s when we packed up the ‘necessities’ that were left, and not unlike the Clampetts, drove down to  Mexico to learn and live the missionary life. 

It was a wonderful adventure, and I’m so grateful for that time. I’m going to save those stories for another day, because I could go on and on. 

Despite the joy and the fun of serving as full time missionaries in Mexico, there was a really hard side for this homeschooling mama. I had four students, a toddler, and a new baby. We lived on a community missionary base that didn’t leave a lot of room for autonomy. I was limited in my ability to provide our family’s schedule and meals. My Spanish was lacking, and although I could go to the grocery store and do some things with confidence, I relied heavily on my husband who is fluent in Spanish. It was tough. So when the time came to decide whether or not to stay in Mexico or return to the states, I asked my husband to come back stateside and carry out his mission via multiple short term trips throughout the year, instead of living there full time.  

So even more like the Clampetts, we packed up our stuff again with the addition of our brand new baby, and our little Mexican puppy and headed back. This time, we landed in New Mexico. The Lord provided a place for us to live, and work to sustain us. Praise Him for these things!

What is Part Time Missionary Life Like?

Our situation today is a testimony to God’s provision and faithfulness. We have a home, some land, and a wonderful homeschool community. I am so grateful for all three. My hubs has been to Mexico twice this year, and has several more trips planned. The post before this one describes some of those adventures. 

I have been reinstated as the manager of my home. I plan our schedule, our meals, and I’m not dependent on my husband’s vocabulary to leave the house. Meal planning may not be important to some of you, but I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and I require a special diet, so this was big for me. Another HUGE benefit to the situation we have now, is that all of our school supplies are at our house all of the time. In Mexico, I had books and supplies in three different houses, and two different countries. I was often without what I needed in my endeavor to homeschool. Also, being stateside, my husband can work. We are able to support ourselves, thank you, Lord! Some of the other joys of being here: a public library, our church home, the roads are nice, the internet is more dependable, and the grocery stores are truly a dream come true. 

But hands down, without a doubt, no question about it, the BEST thing about being here . . . 

is that God is just as much here as He was down there. 

He’s still with us. He still loves us. We still love Him. We remember who He is and what He’s done. The flame still burns between us and Jesus, wherever we go. 

Knowing this brings me so much comfort and reassurance.  

The one thing I really had to get used to, and I am still getting used to was my husband leaving for 10-14 days at a time to do his mission work. But even that has it’s blessings, although I sure do miss him at night! 

Playing the Fool

Because of the path God has walked us through, I have a lot of reflecting to do about April Fool’s Day. 

I think about how the Lord uses the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, the weak to shame the strong, and the poor to shame the rich. 

I think about the fun, the joy, and the adventure there is when we humble ourselves and choose to be fools for Christ. It’s such a different life than the proud life we lived before, a life in which we were fooling ourselves. 

I think about the irony of ‘April Fool’s Day’ to be on Easter Sunday. The Lord sent a King to the earth that no one would recognize or understand. They killed him, and he yet he overcame! He saved and forgave the very ones who killed and accused. 

I think of how worthy Jesus is. He deserves all the glory, all the honor, and all the praise . . . 

I’d be a fool not to give it to Him.

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1Cor. 1:18)