When a Trial is a Blessing

Do you ever find yourself surprised by joy?  Find that you set out simply enduring and end up truly enjoying?  I think sometimes I have this weird view that there’s a list of “hard things” that someone must endure. Each person’s list is different, but I envision God sitting up in heaven with his checklist of “Kari’s list of hard things.”  I envision him sitting there with glasses resting down low on his nose, with his pen checking off items.  “Ok, let’s see here.  Nightmare church situation–check.  Living in a windowless pit with rotten bathroom floor–check.  Unemployed and living with parents–check.  Seminary with two children–check.”  And because of this, when the house we lived in sold and we had to move in with another family–I saw it as another item to check off.  They’re wonderful and I wasn’t dreading it, but I admit I treated it kind of like another item on that divine checklist.   Like God was saying, “Ok, hmm.  They already lived with their parents. But they haven’t lived with their pastor yet. Let’s try that one! That oughtta be a new twist.”  I thought of it as some test that I had to pass before I’d “earn” a house of my own.

And yes, the first week was tough for all of us.  The church moving, us moving, them moving, getting adjusted to each other, being WAY overtired, and me being totally stressed out over my crazy two-year-old and my non-sleeping newborn. Yes, I cried every single day.

But I would be lying if I said that this was a trial.  Tonight after my internship meeting at seminary, I got in my car and started driving and I found myself so excited to get home and see my “family”–my whole family.  All 8 of us!  And that’s so not like me.  I usually feel like the only way to really relax and wind down is to be alone, but I find myself loving the times when we’re all together.  Joy and I meet every Tuesday to go over schedules, coordinate meals, and pray together, and these incredibly sweet times have knit our hearts together like nothing I could have imagined.  After our long and crazy Easter weekend, with 4 services and over 2,000 people (including kids) coming through the church doors, we were all ready for bed by 8pm Sunday night. After tucking in our 4 little ones, we stood downstairs, joined hands, and prayed thanking God for His amazing work that weekend. WHat an incredible blessing!  The four of us, partnering together for the gospel, and experiencing profound community, vulnerability, and relationship so far beyond what we could even have manufactured any other way.  What I thought was a trial has been a blessing.

I’m learning so much too. I’m taking notes as Joy trains her children. I’m being discipled in life.  And I only have to cook 2 nights a week!  The shared cooking responsibilities has turned out to be a huge blessing for both of us! 

So of course it’s a dance we’re still learning. Coordinating laundry, keeping Dutch from getting too riled up while playing with the kids, taking turns holding Heidi when she cries during dinner. We’ve all made adjustments. But on the whole I have to say that I feel like I’m getting a glimpse of what community really means.

“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!”   Psalm 133:1

Perhaps God doesn’t have a checklist…perhaps He jus wants to bless us.  I pray He’s glorified through this house situation, and that perhaps even others would be inspired to experience community and “get into” each other’s lives in ways that go beyond the norm.  We might just be pleasently surprised.