Well, friends, I’m not sure I’ve shared the news here yet, but I am moving back across the pond! After months (years) of praying, God has opened the door for me to move back to my beloved island, this time in the Northern part. In just a few short weeks I’ll be settling into a new life and team in Belfast, with the hope of moving west in the future.

I have been talking with a friend for the past week or so about my travel route from London to Belfast since my ticket from the States is only to London. The plan I had mostly settled on had me arriving in London at 9:40 am, spending nearly 13 hours lugging baggage around, and then getting a bus at 10:30 pm which would arrive in Belfast just after 2:00 pm the next day… I believe some of the words my friend used to describe the route I’d chosen were “grueling” and “nightmare”. They weren’t wrong, but I always just said I’d survive because that route was CHEAP.

I can’t speak for everyone, but I know that many missionaries (and probably others) often fall into a “poverty mentality”. I say missionaries in particular because it is easy to feel that we must honor those who are giving donations to keep us doing the work we are called to do by stewarding each penny carefully, and that’s not wrong. We all are called to steward what God gives us. He is the Source of everything we get, whether that is a salary from a company or a donation from a supporter. It all belongs to Him, and we are allowed to steward it for a time.

The problem arises when we believe that stewardship means just scraping by in survival mode. Obviously we shouldn’t live extravagant lifestyles or waste money on frivolous things, but neither are we called to be stingy and closed fisted with what God provides. It’s no accident that miser (meaning stingy) is the root word of miserable. That is not what God calls us to be or wants for us.

As my friend repeatedly brought up the idea of flying to Belfast to save myself the extra 21 hours of travel, I repeatedly wrote off the idea because of the added expense. I might look like a zombie when I finally arrived, but I’d be a “good steward” of the money people trust me to use in following God. But yesterday, when the idea was brought up once again, I heard God begin to whisper to me about the false mentality I had fallen into (once again) that basic survival was the best option because it was cheapest… as though God couldn’t afford to provide better or I didn’t deserve it.

I was convicted once again of falling into the poverty mindset and forgetting that I am a daughter of the King, loved and provided for by the Creator and Owner of all things. Just as I repented of expecting so little from God and began to consider purchasing a flight instead of the bus trip, my friend asked permission to pay for a flight for me. Once again, I’m overwhelmed by the love of God and the willingness of His people to be conduits of His gifts.