Our Tiny Tale

There are so many reasons everyday to be thankful. Some days we grasp every opportunity to give thanks and other days we allow these opportunities to pass us by. Now I am not just talking about the good situations, but as well those situations that in the moment do not always bring us to our knees in gratitude.

About two years ago, after freshly moving to Switzerland, enrolling myself in a German class, and beginning to really plant my roots here, I was experiencing some serious stomach pains. I waited to see if the pain would go away since I could, for the most part, bare it. Long story short, it did not. So my husband took me in to the hospital, since I was not yet signed up at a general practitioner’s or a gynecologist’s office. 

The doctor at the hospital told me, “I have great news for you two, you’re pregnant!” We both cried, one tears of joy and the other tears of uncertainty. Those who know us well, can well guess who was who. But the pain was still there and is ultimately abnormal in early pregnancy.

They took me for an ultrasound, where they discovered that I not only had an eptopic pregnancy, where the baby had aborted itself into a ruptured blood vessel, but due to that I also had been experiencing, for about a week, internal bleeding. I passed out of the table and started to bleed, which then lead the physicians to rush me into the OR due to the amount of blood that I was losing.

Everything went as planned, they told me. I experienced minimal damage and they estimated a fairly quick recovery time.

It really was a miracle for us. If I had gone to a gynecologist office or a general practitioner, I would be dead. I would’ve lost too much blood before they could have operated on me. God saved my life that day and left us with gratitude in our hearts.

Now fast forward a few months. I finally sign up at the gynecologist office and after the first check up, he tells me, “ I am sorry to say, but due to the scar tissue from your surgery, you may never be able to bear children.”

Abraham and I were shook up. Why did this happen and how could it happen? We knew our lives belong to God and he is the giver of children. We try our best to honor Him with all that we do, why wouldn’t he want to gift us with children for our lives?

After our questions, prayers, and conversations together and with God about this whole situation, we received a deep peace. “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) That’s what we believed. He is God and He has EVERYTHING under control. All the finer details of our lives, He’s got it.

So we went on living life, giving thanks for even this situation and allowing God’s timing and will for our lives to take dominion of our lives.

And that it did. We grew deeper together in trusting in the unknown, with the knowledge that this world is fleeting before our eyes. We grew in the peace of understanding that we may never have children of our own genetic make up and ultimately we grew in a deeper love for our good, good father.

A year and a half later, I was busy traveling around Switzerland with a girlfriend of mine, full of joy and excitement, when Abraham had encouraged me to take a pregnancy test. And so I did, understanding that all things are possible with God, but also not living with the expectation of anything.

Sure enough, it was positive. A miracle. A gift from God, truly! Now, almost 4 months pregnant, happy and healthy as can be. God’s timing is perfect. He sometimes needs to take us through trails, challenges, situations, to grow us in endurance and strength, but He is good and always good.

We will welcome our baby bean into the world, early next spring and each day we grow in excitement to get to meet this new life that God has given to us.

An Authentic Actuality

There is something about going away that just makes me think.

We had the opportunity to travel to Mauritius for about 10 days. We started our trip helping out at a conference for youth and ended with some R&R.

It was wonderful.

I learned far more than I taught during the conference.

The wonderful people that we met during our time there truly touched my heart and made an everlasting memory.

Really, they were such hospitable, kind, generous, and loving people with touching stories behind each of their smiles.

They have hearts that long not only for change within the lives of their friends, but as well for their entire country.

They live with an awareness of the reality of God’s salvation for His people and with that knowledge they love their friends by being unashamed to share the Gospel.

This is courageous for teenagers/young adults to do.

What touched me the most, were their stories. Many had seen deaths of siblings, parents abandoning families, violence, etc. but they lived with a deep and convicting joy and thankfulness.

From my time with these young people, I feel as if they are in the process of mastering the following verses in James:

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness and let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4)

What is important to notice is, it does not say if you meet trials, it says when.

We will all meet trials in our lives, therefore it is a given.

These trials will be challenging, difficult and just flat out hard.

But the outcome of these trials will be a reflection of where we are rooted.

Will we count them all as joy? Will we be able to understand that we are gaining endurance or steadfastness? So that we may one day be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing?

When I asked one of the girls to tell me her story, she simply said “Life has not always been easy, my mother left when I was 7 and I have 3 other siblings. It’s been hard at times, but Jesus has been my rock and there are always reasons to be thankful and to have joy.”

When we have thankfulness in our hearts, joy is the byproduct. We can easily look at every/any situation and see the negative side to it. What do we choose to see? What do we decide to make our reality?

Are we able to see joy in the most difficult of times and situations? A parent leaving, a sibling dying, circumstances changing, rejection, failure, do we understand that our Father is good and always means good for us.

I can look at my own life and see how my perspective can so quickly change depending on if I choose to see the glass half empty of half full. Let’s take this small example of a choice I have every morning when I wake up. I can either see my reality as…

I live as a foreigner here, marginalized by the society due to my accent or lack of cultural competence. I cannot use my talents to their full potential and am not good enough.

Or

I get the opportunity to live in a foreign country, learn a new language, and culture. Grow and prosper in patience, gentleness, peace, and love in all areas of life.

So my friends, the choice is ours. Who do we want to be, how do we want to see life and do we want to choose joy in our various trials.

The Sumptuous Surprises

Hello fellow readers,

I am happy to say after encouragement from friends, family, and even strangers I am back at it.

Writing about the beautiful ways in which I encounter pieces of heaven in my daily grind.

The past two months, I feel as if I was on a roller coast ride looping through what we call life.

SO MANY great things have happened. I am looking forward to explaining them to y’all!

Let me just begin by giving a praise to God. He’s the almighty, the alpha and omega. He truly knows our hearts, to the very last detail. Amazing.

Now before I had taken this little writing break, I had said that I was coming out of a fairly intense time of learning, processing and most of all growing.

During this time I hit a point, where I said in all honesty to my husband, “Abraham I feel like I am giving everything to God I am sacrificing my own wants and desires to follow Him and I just feel like I am forgotten.”

Those who know me personally, know that this is not a normal statement that would come out of my mouth. God is good, no matter what…period. Regardless of the hardships, he has EVERYTHING under control. So what lead me to say this?

Well ultimately the answer is an unthankful heart, but in this moment I could’ve listed one million reasons of how life just hasn’t quite turned out as expected.

So I gave my situation to God in prayer. Just spoke out my heart—the good, the bad, and the ugly. While I received the freedom that comes from openly speaking this out, I remembered,

“Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)

This verse changed my prayers. It’s amazing really. By simply taking delight in Him my desires seemed to change from what I do not have to simply what I long for.

This change, although small, had an impact on my heart. When I focus on where I am lacking, I am already setting myself up for a mental failure and an unthankful heart.

When I focus on what the Word says is true for those who delight in Him and how well He means for those who love him, I am focusing on miracles, heaven on earth, and a positive future. My heart becomes thankful and encouraged for what is to come!

Now let me tell you a few ways of how God answered. How He heard the deep desires of my heart, the majority of these desires I did not even bother to speak out.

HE SIMPLY KNEW IT.

He gave me the opportunity to meet the newest little addition to my family while enjoying a wonderful vacation with the rest of my family.

He sent one of my dearest friends from the states to visit me for two weeks. Where we just talked, traveled, drank coffee, talked some more and simply rested in the joy of being together.

He just so happened to plan an event in Zurich that one of my closest college friends will be planning! Which means we will have 5 days after her event to travel to the beautiful country of France for our stay in Paris.

He gave my husband and I the opportunity to take a trip to the beautiful island of Mauritius, where we will work a conference and help out a local church there. Afterwards we have an additional 7-day stay on the island—with everything paid!

Now last, but certainly not least. I have been given the opportunity to encourage, be encouraged, love, be loved, guide, be guided, be a witness, witness, and celebrate all for the glory of His kingdom!

God is so good—with or without the gifts, the trips, the opportunities, the money.

He hears us and knows the desires of our heart. He is a good father, who means well for us. I encourage all of you to know that where you are, you are so deeply loved, you are not forgotten and you have a father that means deeply good for you, independent from your worldly circumstances!

A Writing Recess

Hi y’all,

I am sorry that it’s been quite sometime since I've last written here. I have been occupied with conferences, celebrations, work, dinner parties, meetings, you name it. It’s been a crazy, full, but yet refreshing time. I’ve gained much knowledge and insight during the last month or two, but everything is kind of floating around. I will take the next month to grab all of those floating thoughts and put them down on paper, while enjoying the beautiful sunshine and summer in Switzerland:)

Love&peace,

Jeanna

Celebrating Life's Circumstances

My husband and I began running together, in the hopes of completing a half marathon…. As long as we stay injury-free for the next few months (fingers crossed and for my German-readers drücke die Daumen ;))…which I can honestly say has been harder than expected after our past 2 months of training

This morning we ran to the home of fellow church leaders, where our morning prayer/leadership meeting was being held. After the meeting we ran back to our apartment and towards the end of our run we began to pick up the pace and lifted up simple prayers that were on our hearts. We prayed about the day ahead of us and specifically over the idea that we can so deeply and freely love those around us. Also that the freedom that the cross gives may revive us to love and rejoice, regardless of the circumstances we are put into.

What does that even look like? How could we live a life, where peace is an everlasting state and emotion, where we can celebrate when we are rejected, put down, or just struggling. Sounds crazy right? Well maybe I am a bit crazy, but I know that the freedom to choose how circumstances effect us IS a promise of the cross.

"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things,[ nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth,nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39

Last year, my husband found out he would be receiving a new position within the company, but that entailed a slight pay-cut along with it. How did we react to the news? We celebrated. We bought a bottle of wine, some fresh cheese and bread and toasted to Gods provision, knowing he's got everything under control.

So what is holding you back to day from choosing love, from choosing to be independent from the circumstances that your life brings to you, from accepting the freedom of the cross? Is it your reputation, laziness, career, family, finances. I encourage you to let it go today and accept the freedom, love and joy that comes from Him who died so that we may live, and not only live, but live to the fullest.