good deal

I don't know about you, but I really love a good deal.
I can't stand paying full-price for things if I know I can get it cheaper elsewhere.
That's why I often browse the listings on craigslist (especially the free section), and am part of our local freecycle group. (PS: Have you heard of Cartwheel by Target? Check it out; I saved over $3 on groceries by using it today!)

This morning I was picking up a homeschool book that had been listed on one of these sites (honestly, I forget which one, because I'm part of several email lists). I pulled up to the address I'd be given. It had one of those storage cubes in the driveway, along with 3 vehicles and countless bikes/trikes/scooters. Their garage was obviously filled with cardboard boxes. I guessed they were in the process of moving. As I was greeted at the front door, two men were carrying a heavy piece of furniture down the stairs. No wonder they were getting rid of some things.

I got the book and asked the mom "So, where are you moving, is it someplace local?"
Her answer: "Macedonia."

What?! Macedonia? I think I've heard of that before, but honestly I'm not even sure where it is.
I asked "Why Macedonia?" and she said they'd been there before on short-term trips and wanted to serve there as full-time missionaries for the next few years.

Wow. Another country... living for God in another country. I can't imagine uprooting my spouse and kids and moving to a place with a different language and culture, with no family on the same continent. That would be weird. That would be daunting... But I guess it wouldn't be impossible.

So many times in my life, I've been reminded by the words in Luke 1:37: "for nothing is impossible with God." In a more modern version, this verse is translated to "God can do anything!”

My mind is so small. How many times a day or a week do we try to limit God?
Why does our scope of influence have to be limited to our particular town or city?
Why do we try so hard to serve people we already know (which is still a great thing to do, don't get me wrong), when it's usually the people we DON'T know and DON'T often associate with who need Jesus' saving grace even more than these?

This week I challenge you (and myself too!) to think of ways to serve outside our comfort zones. It might not be in a different country or state, it might be in the same time zone, or even in your own backyard. But if you quiet yourself and listen to God's still small voice, you might be surprised by where He will ask you to go.

Matthew 28:19-20 says ¹⁹ "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”