​Fear and Faithful

In July, our family received the news that David was being sent overseas for a year…quite a surprise to us, and definitely something that was not on our radar. He was gone by the beginning of August. 
 
Those first 24 hours after receiving the news were filled with such a range of emotions and thoughts. As a family, separation and deployments aren’t foreign to us, but this was definitely not our preference. Yet, after we received the news, the Peace that God concluded the first long night with was steady, mysterious, solid. “This is of Me.”
      
As the next four weeks of preparation unfolded, one fear stood out above the others: I was so afraid that I wouldn’t have the Lord’s joy this year. So much of God’s daily gift of joy to me comes from living life with David. I was afraid of a prevailing sadness and heaviness, which not only would have affected me, but our three kids as well. I told the Lord, “You are just going to have to give me MORE of Yourself.” I so wanted to still be able to be joyful; to be able to worship.
      
The first six weeks certainly had ups and downs as we adjusted to our new normal for this year. Friends here at PCC prayed compassionately and faithfully. And God answered my fear with joy - a steady undercurrent of joy -these last four months, not just for myself, but also for the kids. And it’s not because I am so neat, but because my God is so faithful.
      
He is Faithful. Much is unknown, unpredictable, this year. But God is Faithful. I have Hope, not because I can see how everything is going to work out, but because I know His Name is Faithful and True.

Author

Anna Staton serves in KidzMin and on the Greeting Team. She and her husband David have three children and have moved 13 times in the last 17 years.