Miss this series? Start at Part One: "Assets"
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The future can be a difficult topic for a Christian young lady, for there are so many unanswered questions looming on the horizon. Will I get married or stay single? Will I be rich or poor? Will the economy be resilient or will some socio-economic collapse happen in my lifetime? Sometimes these 'what if's attach themselves to our thought processes and drain us of our joy and peace. How can a Christian girl ever equip herself for a future so riddled with unknown dangers?
I remember trying to explain some decisions that I made a few years back and having concerned friends ask me things like, "Well, what are you going to do if you marry a man who leaves you? How will you take care of yourself and your children financially?" I have been a witness to people losing their wealth to thieves, I've looked into the troubled faces of rape victims and I've come to understand that our choices literally mean life or death to many. I've known people who have been neglected, abused, diseased, abandoned, hated, deceived, betrayed, persecuted, homeless, ordered to sin, harassed by tyrants, stolen from and murdered. {While at the moment I can't think of anyone I've met personally who has been subject to starvation, I've read about them.} Though I've had very few trials actually hit home {and in those, God's mercies have been so indescribably abundant}, I have at least had second-hand knowledge of some of the more difficult things in life.
In making decisions that will shape our own futures, McCauley and I discuss these things at length. "What if... what'll we do... how will we...?" We wrestled through some of these things again as we folded towels this morning, before she went back to her books and I to my word processor.
The temptation to disparage, to default, to bury our talents in the sand and escape the challenge is often great. Would it really be a compromise to trade just a little bit of the liberty we have in Christ for the security that man-made institutions have to offer? The wide and well-traveled path seems to demand so little in exchange for so much. When immediate demands press heavy, we often find our eyes straying to the right and to the left, wondering what opportunities for temporary comfort that we might be missing in our pursuit of eternal returns.
Indeed, there are some very real dangers to consider. To put it simply, there are a lot of bad guys out there who would jump at the chance to take advantage of my sister and I {and any other young lady} in any number of ways. If we are so focused on the future of God's Kingdom, will we forget the warnings of the past and neglect necessarily preparations in the present? There are many conventional routes we could be taking right now to supposedly secure for ourselves good degrees, good careers, good credit, good standing with social services—why are we not scrambling for that security?
Dependence on covenantal relationships can leave one vulnerable to a lot of dangers: shouldn't we be securing our independence with contracts? Couldn't we focus on ministry a few years down the road, once we're well on our way toward individual success in the current American economy?
I remember trying to explain some decisions that I made a few years back and having concerned friends ask me things like, "Well, what are you going to do if you marry a man who leaves you? How will you take care of yourself and your children financially?" I have been a witness to people losing their wealth to thieves, I've looked into the troubled faces of rape victims and I've come to understand that our choices literally mean life or death to many. I've known people who have been neglected, abused, diseased, abandoned, hated, deceived, betrayed, persecuted, homeless, ordered to sin, harassed by tyrants, stolen from and murdered. {While at the moment I can't think of anyone I've met personally who has been subject to starvation, I've read about them.} Though I've had very few trials actually hit home {and in those, God's mercies have been so indescribably abundant}, I have at least had second-hand knowledge of some of the more difficult things in life.
In making decisions that will shape our own futures, McCauley and I discuss these things at length. "What if... what'll we do... how will we...?" We wrestled through some of these things again as we folded towels this morning, before she went back to her books and I to my word processor.
~ Matthew 6:19, 20 ~
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
The temptation to disparage, to default, to bury our talents in the sand and escape the challenge is often great. Would it really be a compromise to trade just a little bit of the liberty we have in Christ for the security that man-made institutions have to offer? The wide and well-traveled path seems to demand so little in exchange for so much. When immediate demands press heavy, we often find our eyes straying to the right and to the left, wondering what opportunities for temporary comfort that we might be missing in our pursuit of eternal returns.
Indeed, there are some very real dangers to consider. To put it simply, there are a lot of bad guys out there who would jump at the chance to take advantage of my sister and I {and any other young lady} in any number of ways. If we are so focused on the future of God's Kingdom, will we forget the warnings of the past and neglect necessarily preparations in the present? There are many conventional routes we could be taking right now to supposedly secure for ourselves good degrees, good careers, good credit, good standing with social services—why are we not scrambling for that security?
Dependence on covenantal relationships can leave one vulnerable to a lot of dangers: shouldn't we be securing our independence with contracts? Couldn't we focus on ministry a few years down the road, once we're well on our way toward individual success in the current American economy?
Next Up:
{Cauley's Journey Into Midwifery, part 4}
Want to skip around?
Part 1: Assets
Part 2: Direction
Part 3: Fears
Part 4: Security
Part 5: Education
Part 6: Getting Started
Part 7: God Will Act + Exciting Announcement!
Want to skip around?
Part 1: Assets
Part 2: Direction
Part 3: Fears
Part 4: Security
Part 5: Education
Part 6: Getting Started
Part 7: God Will Act + Exciting Announcement!
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