I distinctly remember three compliments I received, and I wouldn’t have put the things I did to earn them on my resume! The first was when an amazing woman named Martha became one of our first missionary supporters. As I thanked her, she said it was because she sat on our toilet…wait, what? She said when she came over once in the winter for dinner, the toilet seat was so cold that she knew we were serious about paying off our school loans quickly and getting to the mission field. The second one was when I was sharing a story of a spider on our well in Indonesia. The power went out and I wanted to switch the water over to city water so I could still wash dishes but I was too scared of the spider to grab the switch, feeling like a ridiculous wimp and letting the spider hold our water hostage. My friend Sue said she was very impressed that I lived in the rainforest even though I am terrified of spiders. The last one was from our childcare coordinator at church, who told me she was impressed that I got myself and the girls to church even on the Sundays Jason had to work. The girls were three and five at the time, and I told Laurie that if we didn’t make it to church, it would be just me and them all day, it was a matter of survival. All three of these times I felt like I was barely surviving if not outright failing, but these women saw God giving strength in my weaknesses. I bet if you asked the people closest to you when they thought you were strongest, you would be surprised! God is strongest in our weaknesses, and just because we are at the end of our endurance doesn’t mean we aren’t being faithful.

2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more fladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.