I am here to GLORIFY GOD.  Period.

Any suffering on my part does NOT give me an ‘excused absence’ from glorifying God.  In fact, it becomes an even BIGGER priority during the hard times.

 

I am a child of God—FIRST.  Billy’s wife—SECOND.  And the mom of our nine kids—THIRD.  These are true whether or not I always conduct myself in that way.

 

It is EASY to glorify God when you FINALLY arrive overseas after all the long months of preparation and you feel ready to tackle any obstacles you encounter…

It is HARD to glorify God when you come down with malaria and hepatitis in the first month and cannot even lift your head off your pillow without pain.

 

It is EASY to glorify God when you are FINALLY able to put your long months of language learning to use and actually SPEAK to people in French…

It is HARD to glorify God when you are moved almost immediately to a different place where they speak Swahili.

 

It is EASY to glorify God when your children are growing and laughing and thriving and adapting easily to a new culture…

It is HARD to glorify God when your children are the direct target of enemy attack and spiritual warfare.

 

It is EASY to glorify God when the dry season begins and you have a FULL cistern of water to draw from…

It is HARD to glorify God when a lizard commits suicide in your pump, and you have no way of getting your water out of the full cistern.

 

It is EASY to glorify God when your family and friends write often, or come to visit you while you are on the field…

It is HARD to glorify God when you are the only white English-speakers in your village and you face loneliness and isolation and fear.

 

It is EASY to glorify God when your first daughter is born after a ‘run’ of boys…

It is HARD to glorify God when you lose another unborn baby in a strange and foreign hospital clinic.

 

It is EASY to glorify God when your child professes a belief in Jesus and makes Him Savior of his life…

It is HARD to glorify God when your child is burning up with fever and hurting, or when your husband is depressed and discouraged and unable to make decisions.

 

It is EASY to glorify God when the night-time sky is inky black over your village home, and you are given a brilliant shooting star light-show each night…

It is HARD to glorify God when a local thunderstorm landing on your tin roof makes it impossible for you to hear your husband’s flight-following call to the radio in your home.

 

It is EASY to glorify God when you are fully supported and your prayer letters are all written and sent out on time…

It is HARD to glorify God when you are forced to evacuate and leave your home because of rebel activity and gunfire.

 

It is EASY to glorify God when your husband is purpose-filled in his work, and is entrusted with additional responsibility…

It is HARD to glorify God when interpersonal struggles amongst your Christian colleagues hurt and cut and divide.

 

It is EASY to glorify God when you see your young orphan friend give his life to Jesus…

It is HARD to glorify God when you learn of the shooting death of an old and faithful Christian friend from your village.

 

It is EASY to glorify God when you are honored by having a dear African friend name her baby for you (Kapinga Jan Emmanuela Kupa is now four years old and living in the DRC)…

It is HARD to glorify God when you must fire your trusted house worker after you catch her stealing from your home and lying about it right to your face.

 

It is EASY to glorify God when you are splashing in the Indian Ocean, or on a safari in Kenya, or traveling through Europe by train, or riding on camel’s back and camping out in the Sahara Desert…

It is HARD to glorify God when you are dripping sweat all the way down to the backs of your knees while waiting in a crowded airport, or when your husband cannot land his plane because of a military contingent at his intended stopping place.

 

It is EASY to glorify God while you watch your child being baptized in the ocean off the coast of a Muslim city…

It is HARD to glorify God while you walk a path with friends who are dealing with the death of their 11-year-old child.

 

It is EASY to glorify God when you love where you are living and what you are doing…

It is HARD to glorify God when you have to pack up and move to your 33rd home in less than 24 years.

 

It is EASY to glorify God when you feel like you are making a difference in someone’s life, even a small difference…

It is HARD to glorify God when you feel like your time as a ‘real global worker’ is cut short because of the physical illness of one of your children.

 

Living overseas has taught me this about glorifying God…

 

I am a work in progress.

EASY or HARD, there are NO mistakes.

God can use it all…IS using it all.  EVEN the hard stuff.  ESPECIALLY the hard stuff.

My suffering has as much of an eternal purpose as my rejoicing.

God can be trusted with my life.

I was made to be a mirror to reflect God’s glory BACK to Him.

I was created for HIS glory, and that my life is HIS life after all!