When my husband and I were interning I was told that I needed a call to the ministry. A pastor had asked me about my calling to the field of Guam. He informed me that I could not "just" follow my husband. He said that I needed my own calling so that when things became hard or difficult on the field I could go back to a time and place that the Lord called me. This way I would not or could not blame my husband for moving us half way around the world.
I surrendered to go to Guam as a missionary on March 30, 2002. That was the day my husband asked me to marry him. I had know PJ for years. We were in the same mission classes in college, and his parents were the youth leaders of the church I attended in the summer. I knew PJ was going to Guam, I also knew that PJ was the one I was suppose to marry. Therefore, I knew I was called to Guam. (I even switched my major in college my senior year!)
To some, my testimony is not a real calling. I have heard other ladies tell me how glad they were that they had their own calling and that they were not just following their husbands. After hearing the pastor tell me I needed my own calling I begin looking in the Bible and the Lord led me to Abraham and Sarah. God told Abraham where to go, and he did not give a separate call to Sarah. That sealed it!
I have just come through one of the hardest weeks ,emotionally, since being on our island. There were a few days that if my husband would have told me we were leaving I could have been packed in 2 hours. It was during those times that the pastor's advice came back to me. I visited my time and place of calling. I surrendered to marry PJ.
On December 20, 2002 I promised to follow, obey, and submit to his leadership. I re-visited those days when I was discouraged, and I was reminded that my calling is to be his help meet and to stand beside him. Yes, I was encouraged and I spent time in prayer for my husband and our ministry. The Lord brought me out and encouraged me also with His Word. I do love the island and the people of Guam! I am very thankful that this is where the Lord has called my family to serve Him.
I completely agree with you Sarah! God made the husband the head of the family for a reason - to lead it. Those families living in the U.S. can still be moved clear across the country because of God's direction to the husband - the wife never received a "call". I think of military families where the wife and children are moved around the globe regularly, or about missionary children who move to the field at an older age. Hugs to you, I may not have been in the exact situation you're in now, but we have certainly had our struggles and some of those very hard weeks. Praying for you and for some extra encouragement.
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