we are the mission trip

I woke up this morning hoping that yesterday wasn't a dream. It sure felt like a dream, though. What began as a rather crummy week has turned out to be an excellent one, thanks to God's perfect timing.

I wrote on Tuesday a portion of the arduous task-list we need to tackle. What I didn't write about was the tears that followed that post. My heart was hurting for my house, for my life, for my newborn marriage.

We talked about giving up.

And slowly... well, honestly, rapidly... God showed up. He always seems to show up in those moments of absolute desperation. When we throw our hands up and say, "My plans won't work, I can't do this on my own, you have total control... you always did." He shows up.

Yesterday, we had fifteen strangers working on our house. Seven from Marietta, working on the roof. Eight from Boise, hanging drywall. We were their mission trip. A phone call from a friend offering donated money from strangers at an unknown church. And a Lowe's card with a large spending allowance from some people we love dearly. People were "coming out of the woodworks" yesterday, and it felt so good. We felt sorta like George Bailey and his family at the end of It's a Wonderful Life.

But here's the kicker in the pants: God isn't providing all of this amazing assistance simply because He loves us. Even if we didn't have a place to live right now, we'd be able to live at my mom's. We wouldn't go hungry or entirely broke - someone would take care of us. But this house - this is truly something that no one else could have put together. Only the Lord could have done all of this. He is reminding us to Trust Him alone, and He is reminding us that He has a bigger plan for this house - bigger than plans for a plain old "first home" for a budding marriage. I don't know how, but this house is going to be one of ministry, healing, community - a house of significance because of its establishment in the Kingdom.

God isn't doing these things for us because He loves us. He's doing these things for His glory. So, we give Him all the glory. We give Him all the thanks, all the praise, and we dedicate our home to Him and His service.