Choices

All through our lives we all make choices, some for the better, some for the worse. I know I have made many of both of those, some choices good and some awful, and I will probably continue to do that same thing for all of my days.

1HW and I also try to be loving and giving, not just to each other, but also to our families, friends, church, and community. Sometimes it is more evident than others, because both of us believe in that "pay ahead" philosophy, and often others have no idea of the extent of our giving. That is as it should be. We hope it is helpful to others and pleasing in God's sight. It is a remarkably wonderful feeling to give your gifts, time, and talents to others in many varied and different ways. In some ways, it does show the love we share for many people, and we try to show that love in our actions, as well as our gifts.

It has also occurred to us, however, that we can truly love someone and also say "No." This has really become evident to us lately. We realize that we can disagree with those we love while still loving and praying for them, even if we disagree with what they are doing. This has turned into quite a conflict within our family, as one child and her family are in the final stages to become missionaries.

That sounds wonderful, doesn't it, having a child who finds it a calling to serve the Lord in the mission fields. I would have thought so also, if it were just the two of them pursuing this dream. However, there are also five children involved from ages 11-16, and the family's goal is serving in Mexico as part of a border ministry. Since we have been living in Texas off and on since 2000, we have become quite aware of what it is like to for non-Mexicans (as well as Mexicans) to live in Mexico along the border. We read stories in the papers about it every day, about the fears, the drugs, the war-lords, the gangs, the violence, and the killings, all across the border from Juarez to Laredo. With that in mind, we cannot possibly support the idea of taking five children into that territory. We know the arguments about God protecting them, and we are quite sure some of the priests who have been killed reassured their families in the same way. There are many innocent victims whose families would have liked to believe that, too. However, the reality is, the fear is there. We also have concerns about their living in New York City's inner city for a period of training, as we have visited schools and communities there, complete with armed guards. And the idea of their obtaining language training for six months in Cuernavaca, home to some of the gang lords, is also causing us concern. For that reason we say, "No, we cannot support your ideas about doing this." It has been difficult to take this stand. However, it is because of our love that we do so. Does it mean we love them less? Quite the contrary. Can we convince them of that? No. So are we the unfeeling, the unsupportive bad guys? It makes us feel sad and hurt to be thought of in those terms, but it will not cause us to change our minds.

Are we wrong? Maybe. But could we live with ourselves for backing these plans if something happened to one of them? No. So we will maintain our opinions and beliefs. We would love to be able to have a different view, but after much thought and prayer, we feel that God is also on our side as well and understands our position as well as theirs.

Last Sunday our pastor John gave a wonderful sermon on I Corinthians 13: 1-13, in which he spoke about how somethings seen or done in today's world are not clear, but seen through a mirror dimly. We guess our stance is being seen through a mirror dimly. We only hope that at some point, then, later, our views can be seen and appreciated fully. "The greatest of these is love," and we do love with all of our hearts!