I've told several people now that it feels like we're rounding the third turn in the Indy 500, and the checkered flag for this race is when we arrive in MX. As we get closer to that flag, the temptation to be discouraged by what we have yet to do and yet to raise can be overwhelming. There are so many things that we have to "figure" out that feel so far outside anything we've ever done, and we feel so at the mercy of others, it can press in pretty heavy at times. And my (Erick) way of dealing with this stress and discouragement sometimes is not pretty. Then when I don't handle it well, I get more discouraged with myself.
We know we need to look back and see how far God has brought us, but my human, rational side says, "We've still got soo much to do and soo far to go that the past feels almost irrelevant. And so I ask myself, "Is this really a journey I have the courage to continue?" But as Dean Vander Mey said in his article When All Hell Breaks Loose, "You see Satan seeks to discourage the beloved people of God so they no longer operate in faith. Satan [knows] full well that without faith it's impossible to please God" (Heb 11:6). So we press forward through the challenges that come with any new chapter of life, using faith daily as the weapon of choice when discouragement presses in.
"If Satan can get you divided, decived, and distracted from God's purposes and goals, you will end up very discouraged. If Satan's schemes work and you bite this bait, God's plans will go forward....but without [the Mowery family]. We will become P.O.Ws."
Erick climbing the wall at Family Camp
Eliza climbing the wall
