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We Are His Hands and Feet: Joy's Faith Journey- Part 2
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We Are His Hands and Feet: Joy's Faith Journey- Part 2

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Hi friends!  On today’s episode of Draw Near to Me, we will begin part 2 of Joy’s faith journey.  For those who prefer to read, today’s content is also posted below.  As a recap, part 1 ended with Joy receiving another calling on her life.  When she was eight, she was called to be a nurse.  By the time she was a teenager, the Lord placed something else on her heart.  She was to become a foreign missionary and go serve the people of Africa.  Not yet knowing how all this would come to fruition, she stored these things in her heart for when the Lord would make the timing apparent.  If you enjoy this post, please share it with others using the share button below and consider doing a free or paid subscription.  With that, let’s dive into part 2 of Joy’s story. Enjoy!

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After I graduated from high school, I decided to go to college to become a nurse.  I was fortunate to obtain a scholarship to attend Sanford University, which was located in Birmingham, AL.  I enrolled in their four-year nursing program where I eventually obtained my degree. 

One day, during my sophomore year of college, my sorority sister, Katie, approached me with a request.  She said, “Joy, there’s this guy that I really want you to meet.  He goes to Birmingham-Southern.”  I told her that I was not interested, but she asked me to pray about it.  Katie could tell that I was still unsure, so she said, “Joy I’m serious.  Something tells me that you need to meet him.  I think you guys would hit it off.”  I was still not convinced.

 A week later, Katie came back and asked me if I had prayed about it.  I did not realize that she was so serious about it, but she was.  I asked her to give me a week.  This time I committed to actually thinking and praying about it.  In the end, I agreed to meet him.

Katie set up the double date.  Her and her boyfriend were going to go as well.  When I went, I knew nothing about David, my blind date.  I did not even know what he looked like until he walked up.  All I knew was that he went to the college across town. 

Even though he was a complete stranger, as soon as my eyes met David’s, I realized I was looking at my future husband.  I knew I was going to marry him.  Looking back, that sentiment was so sweet, but at the time the thought scared me to death.  It was so ridiculous to me and unheard of to instantly sense that level of connection.

As our double date continued, I tried to assess what was going on and determine why I felt he was the one.  I remember thinking, “Really? He’s quiet.”  I did not get a whole lot of information out of him on that first date.  I kept thinking, “This is so crazy.  Why do I feel this way?” I could not make sense of the why, but I knew without a doubt that he would be the man that I married. 

Soon after, David asked me out again and we began dating.  Early on, I told him that I needed to be honest with him about my future.  I told him that I knew I was called to do foreign mission work.  In reply, he said, “Okay, this is interesting because I don’t think that I’m called to that.”  Since our callings seemed out of sync, I raised the possibility that maybe we should no longer date.  I recognized that I was supposed to move to another country, not just go on short term foreign mission trips.  At that point, he suggested we pray about it and then discuss it further. 

We both prayed about where the Lord was guiding us.  When we came back together, David said,” Joy, I feel like we are supposed to be together.  I support you 110% with foreign mission work, whatever that looks like.  For me, I feel like the Lord is asking me to continue doing domestic mission work.”  

Although David’s calling was different from mine, my time in prayer also confirmed what he had concluded.  It was clear to me as well that we were supposed to continue dating.  Although we did not know how our callings aligned, we knew the Lord wanted us together.  In the end, David indeed was the man that I married.

For years I was eager to be sent to the foreign mission field.  I felt a stirring to go, and to some degree maybe experienced a little restlessness because I was not there yet.  At the same time, I was trying to be fully surrendered to whatever the Lord was asking me to do at any given moment.  It was an interesting internal dynamic.  It wasn’t until after I had my first baby that I was presented with an opportunity to go on a foreign mission trip. 

One day, I took our daughter Ella to her pediatrician appointment.  At the visit, the doctor said to me, “Joy, I know you’re a nurse.  We are looking for someone to go on a medical mission trip to Honduras.  We’re short one nurse.  Would you be interested?”  Even though Ella was still very young, and the trip wasn’t going to Africa, I was still very intrigued.  When I went home and told David, he said, “Absolutely.  100 percent you should go.” 

As I began looking into the mission trip, all these little connections were revealed.  Lo and behold, it turned out that our pediatrician went to a church in Lebanon, TN.  It was a town that was about 45 minutes away from Nashville, where we were currently living.  It was not just any town though, it was where I was originally from.  In fact, the church from Lebanon that was going to Honduras was my parent’s church.  It was so crazy. 

I went to the informational meeting to learn more.  It was then that I discovered that I knew the missions pastor who was leading the trip to Honduras.  Phil was the father of a guy that I grew up with in school.  When he saw me, Phil said, “What in the world? This is so wild.  I didn’t know that you were living nearby!”  After I told Phil that we lived in Nashville, he asked me how I heard about the trip.  I explained to him how I got connected through my daughter’s pediatrician. 

I mention those cool connections once more because I think it raises such an important point.  If we are still enough, quiet enough, and we’re willing, the Lord speaks to us so clearly.  Being in that constant state of surrender, even in the waiting, and being willing to say yes, leads to these beautiful ways in how He speaks to us.  Ultimately, I knew the direction the Lord was prompting me to go, so I signed up for the trip.

On the flight heading to Honduras, the Lord opened yet another opportunity.  I happened to be sitting next to Phil on the airplane.  Right before we landed in Tegucigalpa, he leaned over and said, “Hey, I want you to pray about something.  We are starting to do some mission work in Kenya and I’m wondering if you would ever be interested in going.” 

In that moment, I felt chills all over my body.  I realized that if I had not said yes to going on mission to Honduras, then I would not have heard this prompting from the pastor to go to Africa.  I had such a deep gratitude for the Lord and this opportunity He was giving me.  I was so thankful that I had heard Him correctly about saying “yes” to Honduras, even though it did not make sense at the time.

I spent the majority of that week in Honduras in awe of God’s goodness.  I was amazed at how things had come full circle to bring me to Africa.   That trip prepared me for what it was like to get my feet wet and go a little bit deeper into mission work.  By the time I left, I was in love with the people of Honduras.  They were such a beautiful people group.  Even though I still felt called to Africa, by the end of the trip I wondered how I could go anywhere else after being in Honduras.  It was an incredible trip. 

On the way home, Phil brought up the possibility of going to Africa once more.  He said,” No pressure but we’ve got a medical group going next summer if you’re interested.”  I was so excited to share the news with my husband.  As soon as I landed, I told David that I had been invited to go to Kenya.  It was insane how it all came together. 

I was so eager to go to Africa, but then things fell apart.  There was an election going on in Kenya that led to a lot of unrest within the country.  The trip was canceled because it was no longer safe for people to fly into the country or to be present there during the election season.  Even though I knew that God’s timing was perfect, I was sad that the opportunity had disappeared. 

Despite my desire to go, I think that the Lord knew my heart was not quite ready.  In my personal life, we were in a period of transition at the time.  David and I had made the decision to leave Nashville and move to Lebanon, TN.  We were looking for a home church to be a part of as well.  It was almost like our life was in a state of unrest as all these changes occurred. 

Right after the trip to Kenya was canceled, I became pregnant with my second child.  We were thrilled.  At the same time, I wondered about the delay concerning mission work.  I knew that there was now at least another year wait before I could go to Africa.  I thought, “Lord, I’m so willing.”  Honestly, I think He probably laughs at me all the time because of my great eagerness and desire to do things.  The Lord was probably like,” Just hang tight.  I have other things for you to do.” 

In my mind, I adjusted the timing of when I was going to be able to go to Kenya.  I thought we would have our daughter and then I would go the next summer.  Well, those were my plans, not His.  I laugh because the Lord has such a great sense of humor.  A few months after having our daughter, I became pregnant with our third child.  She is such an amazing human, and our lives would not be the same without her.  At that point I had to surrender my timing of when Africa was supposed to happen.  It was up to the Lord.

Since the cancelation of the Kenya trip, I lost touch with Phil.  He knew our life was wild and crazy while we were having babies.  With our third, Eden, I was on bed rest.  It was a high-risk pregnancy.  Whenever I got up and moved, it caused me to dilate.  I was in the hospital for a period of time and then strict bed rest for 18 weeks.

In the middle of that 18-week period of bedrest, David came to me with a conversation that began to change everything.  He walked into our bedroom and said, “Please hear me out and don’t hate me for saying this.”  I thought, “Oh dear, what is about to happen?”  He continued and told me, “Joy, I feel like our family is being called to the foreign mission field.” 

I was taken aback.  It seemed like bad timing in the midst of everything we were going through.  I was also surprised because he had never been called to foreign mission work.  I asked him for more details.  When and where did he feel called?  He replied, “I don’t know.  I think it’s Africa and we’ve gotta be ready.  First, we’ve gotta get our baby girl here safe and get her to a point where it’s safe for us to travel with her.  I feel like the Lord is saying in two years’ time we’ll be on the mission field.”

So, we began praying about everything.  We continually asked the Lord to show us where He wanted us.  Soon, He made it very clear.

To be continued.

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