Snapshot of Chapter Four

Sheranna’s Snapshot

In this chapter, Charlene, talks about what she went through during the time her family moved to the United States from Singapore, where she was born and raised and where her entire family and all of her friends lived. She describes how she invested herself so much in making the transition as easy as possible on her children that she failed to see how she was not really accepting this new place in life for herself.

Being obedient to follow the call of the Lord and make such a huge move cost her more than she expected it to, and it became crushing for her. Until she finally realized that the Lord was always good to her, even when she came to Him completely empty—of strength, of joy, of understanding. He was good to her even when she came to Him filled with the wrong things—bad attitude, anger, fear.

The story hits home for me because, even though I’ve never been asked by God to move overseas and thousands of miles away from my loved ones, He has asked me at times to move away from what I loved, leaving people, places, and things behind that I thought I’d never be able to live without. I, too, have found myself coming to Him completely empty of what I think I should be full of and completely full of what I know is not His will for me. And, He’s been good to me every single time. Also, obedience to His plan has ultimately been beneficial to me every single time!

I think that sometimes He places us in situations which bring us to emptiness so we can see more clearly that He is all we really need. And, every time we realize that fact, we TRUST Him more, because He can be TRUSTed…every single time…

Charlene’s Response

It was somewhere toward the beginning of the year 2011 that my husband and I were hearing God about moving and struggling with the decision to follow His leading. Then in July of that same year, after months of prayer and preparation, we made the international move into the unknown.

Fast forward to today and I can tell you that I have experienced so many blessings from that difficult act of obedience. Telling this part of my story serves as a reminder to me that when God calls us to do something, whether it is easy or difficult, He always has a perfect plan for us. If our family had given in to all the fears and uncertainties, we would have missed out on all of the wonderful blessings He had in store for us.

Also, I have experienced a lot of spiritual growth since then because I was stripped away of everything I was accustomed to and thrust into the unfamiliar where, other than my husband and children, I had no one but God in my life. The ways in which I experienced His faithfulness and His goodness through this tough time is something that I wouldn’t trade for anything else.

Yes, there have been huge sacrifices—such as being so far away from my parents and grandmother, and not being there when my Dad and Grandma passed away. But, as painful as those moments were, experiencing God’s closeness, comfort, and goodness far surpasses everything else. So, let my story encourage you to keep trusting God’s leading in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead, because our Abba Father can indeed be TRUSTed!

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