A Purpose to Live Free

The following is a portion of an article my husband wrote for our church blog regarding his current trip to Africa. In these paragraphs, he shares how he felt as months of planning, trusting, and waiting finally culminated in the touchdown of their small plane in an African village.

Our two hour and fifteen minute flight to the swamp passed quickly with great stories and conversation with Kap. As we approached the village, his words changed to focus on the town below. He then became silent; anticipation of seeing his family again became apparent. I too looked down; we were only 2500' off the ground. I saw the huts, the mud brick walls, and the people waving. We approached the air strip from the north and made a pass to land with the wind. We banked hard and made the approach. We could see Chica and their children; they were all waving. We landed soft and safe on the sand runway.

We. Were. Here.

Emotion overwhelmed me; I began to cry but I held it back. We had arrived. We had arrived at the place for which my friend had totally forsaken all the luxuries of the USA; the place for which he had forsaken all excuses not to serve.

We taxied to the drop off point. Chica and the kids were waiting.

I came with a purpose – a purpose of no excuses, a purpose to live free. Free from what the USA has taught me. Our country teaches us to take care of ourselves. Do not help others. Worry about what is yours and nothing else. We are a lost nation.

I was now in the village – where God wanted me to be at this moment in time. While still in the plane, I began to weep uncontrollably. The others were off but Kap and we wept together. We were in the village together.

I wrote an article this past weekend entitled God Shows Up. In it, I summarized some of Jimmy's emailed comments about his trip because they show that when we lay aside excuses and choose to follow Christ then we will see extraordinary things happen. In this article, Jimmy experienced one of those extraordinary things. He found himself in the right place at the right time and he defined his experience as a purpose to live free.

Freedom isn't the right to do whatever you want. It isn't unbridled behavior. Spiritual freedom is the strength to throw aside what the world tells you and be free to be who God created you to be!

Right now, Jimmy's job in the kingdom is to help a friend in Africa. My job is to stay home and take care of our home and family while I write about his trip. Last January, we reversed our roles when I was the one called to go and do in Haiti and God led him to stay home. For some, their job in the kingdom is to reach a lost friend in their workplace. Or, raise a godly family. Or, serve permanently in a desolate village in a third world country. What matters is that we each do what God designed us to do. Do you know what your job is? Are you doing it? It is your purpose to live free.