This month we have another great submission from one of our readers. Enjoy! Juli writes…

Another Transition

Our family has worked in Latin America since 2014, but right now we are finishing up our home assignment in Germany. At the end of our last term in Ecuador, we were open to hearing from God about our next placement.

We practiced listening to God and invited others to listen with us concerning our future placement. As we prayed with a friend, he shared an impression of us walking alongside people in Costa Rica and asked us to bring this before the Lord.

This listening time with our friend happened right after a challenging time of transition. We had settled back in Germany and helped our three kids to finally feel at home again. As a mother, I didn’t feel ready for a transition to yet another new country. I had a lot of questions and fears, especially around our children facing a new period of change and moving to another place.

The Good Shepherd

My husband and I sat before the Lord, bringing all our thoughts and fears to him, asking him to speak into the situation. As we quieted our hearts, Jesus gave me a picture in response to those feelings about Costa Rica. I saw a shepherd with three little lambs on his strong shoulders and two adult sheep walking directly behind him, step by step.

Jesus was speaking so kindly and lovingly to my heart about my fears and reservations. My heart was touched, and tears began to fall. I could see Jesus as the Good Shepherd of our family, leading and caring for us.

Pondering this picture, I understood that we as parents need to follow him closely. Then we can entrust our children to him for the next transition. He will carry them and bring them safely through it.

In the following weeks we received more words of encouragement from Jesus and from others who listened for us confirming that going to Costa Rica was the next step for us to take. In a few weeks we will leave Germany, our house is becoming empty, and the reality of the transition is hitting home.

Since this special moment with Jesus, I still experienced some times of confusion, especially when people asked about uprooting our kids again. Worries about their well-being and my responsibility for them weighed upon me. I ran to Jesus with these thoughts and each time he reminded me of the Good Shepherd picture. He asked me, Whom do you trust more?

So I have clung to the promise of the Good Shepherd to bring us through this next transition. He will give us wisdom and love to walk with our kids through the hard moments and we can entrust them to him. His ways are good, and he provides for all we need as we follow him.

Picture of a Quichua couple in Ecuador by Marjan Slinger-Volgers on Pinterest

Sketch of the shepherd by Juli