On Receiving...and Sacrificing

So, writing has obviously not been at the top of my list. Many things have transpired since I last wrote. Some good, some not so good.

For instance, I am now anemic, so I’ve had next to no energy. I did 5 different iron infusions and I’m just now feeling a bit more energized. Not much, but a bit. That’s why I haven’t written. I’ve just been too tired.

In other Medina family news, I am happy to report that Jeff has a job. He’s working back at the Chick-fil-A where he used to work, but this time as a manager. He’s working nights, so that’s been a tremendous challenge for me to get used to doing bedtime all alone. We rejoice that he has a job, and I personally did a happy dance because it forced us to finally buy another car. Jeff’s schedule, going straight from school to work, is no longer conducive to our family only having one car. We’ve done it for over 5 years, but I am so excited to have now joined the ranks of mini-van driving soccer moms. It’s an older van, but it’s new to me, and we still only have one car payment, so I feel free to enjoy tooling myself and the children around where we need to go.

We were having trouble finding the right combination of low miles, quality car, and affordable price. But, God plopped this van on a lot we checked out of the blue. It was cheaper than everything else, had been incredibly well-maintained, had never been in an accident, and averaged a low 10,000 miles per year. I knew God had set that van out for us; it was the only one in the used car lot. When I sat in the driver’s seat, it was if it had been perfectly formed for my backside. I fit in all the right grooves and I told Jeff “this is it.”

The haggling and paperwork was overwhelming. Buying a car is simply not fun and takes forever (even longer when you have 3 preschoolers along). But, praise God I have a car again. I sold my car when Jeff and I first got married, so I could pay off his credit card which had school bills from seminary. It was a huge sacrifice for me and my ‘freedoms’, one I didn’t know would last 5 years.

But, more and more I learn about making sacrifices and what is expected from my Christian life. Life is not about having the biggest, newest, or best things. It’s not even about having lots of lesser value items either. Life is about making sacrifices for what’s important and making choices that affect eternity. I made the sacrifice to sell my car. I made the sacrifice to stay home with my children and for us to live on what Jeff brought home because, for me to be able to stay home with our children was the most important part of motherhood. I could have worked and I could have been driving an SUV Cadillac tricked out with rims, sunroof, and tinted windows, but no, we drove a 4-door Chevy Cobalt not made for three car seats and two parents. I was squeezed into the back like Pizza Hut’s stuffed crust, between two car seats and two children who couldn’t keep their hands off me. I oozed all over the place, especially when I was pregnant.

Making sacrifices isn’t easy; in fact, most times it’s really hard. But it wouldn’t be a sacrifice any other way, would it? I think about each of you faithful readers. Many of you have made monetary sacrifices in order to help my family through our hardship, and though we are INCREDIBLY grateful for your help, our gratitude, in no way, can compare to how God thinks about your obedient act to Him. Many times obedience isn’t about who’s doing the receiving; rather, it’s about you and your relationship to God, for sacrifice is an act of worship to our creator, Holy Awesome God.