Greetings friends!
Spring quarter here at YWAM Montana has officially begun. In fact we are one week into it. This marks the third and final quarter for the 2010-11 SBS. While most of the SBS students are on the home stretch of their journey here at YWAM Montana, for many others this marks the beginning of a very new, and hopefully life changing season. Our base began two new Discipleship Training Schools (DTS) this quarter and has welcomed a few new staff member as well. The DTS is not a school that Justin and I are directly involved in, as we focus primarily on SBS. However, we are all focused on the same mission here at YWAM Montana, and it is great to have the opportunity to see the new staff and students' eager faces; welcoming them to a season in their lives, that will hopefully leave them changed forever and lead them into a lifetime of following God with abandon.
The irony, is that with all of the hustle and excitement of a new quarter filled with new people, new workloads, and experiences for everyone around me, I (Annie) feel like I am living in a capsule of quiet amidst the chaos. Yes, I like the rest of the base am experiencing very new things, and am learning lessons that will also leave me changed forever. The irony however, is found in that am walking through them tucked away from the current of every day student/staff life here on the base. I am being changed by the whispers of a newly discovered love for my daughter that sweep across my heart and take my breath away as I get her dressed or wake her from a nap. I am being enlightened by the encouragements from God, that this new responsibility I have as a mother is one that has eternal effects for the Kingdom of God. I am being shaped by the determination to see my family have victory over the things that threaten it, and the desire to bring glory to God through it all. I have learned a new kind of love, a new kind of determination, a new outlook on and understanding of my destiny.
I have also in many ways, been introduced to myself: To things I didn't know I was capable of doing; to loves, passions, strengths and desires, that I was previously unaware of. In the mist of this beautiful awakening I have also experienced the grief of my own personal brokenness and disappointments; the bittersweet release in letting many of my dreams rest until God reawakens them from the slumber he has induced. I am so used to being a part of the fore mentioned "current" that is "life in ministry." Since having Ella I have fought to flow with this current in the way that I thought I was supposed to, or the way I expected everyone would want me to; the way I wanted myself to. However, I have been completely humbled by a wise God who has tenderly shown me a completely different stroke of this current by which he wants me to move with him. He has led me to a beautiful surrender, a continuous surrender. I am challenged by a God who wants me to serve him in a way that I had never imagined for myself and suspect that there isn't much "worldly" glory in. I confess that I did not see the glory in it myself before I could understand it. In the midst of this lesson, I am also excited and hopeful. Excited to be a part of something so great as to steward another soul who will by God's grace grow to be a warrior of love for His Kingdom. I am eager for the adventures that He will take our family on as we commit to serve Him and love the world; wherever that takes us. I am also hopeful for the times when we as a family will overcome hardships and for my experiences as a wife and mother to shape me into a better person. A person with greater influence on those around me for good, and a more faithful daughter to my gracious and loving father who is God Almighty.
I am committed to serving my family (whatever that looks like in the seasons to come) as we serve God and strive to be beacons of love to the people and nations that He so dearly loves. This mission that we are called to at YWAM Montana (or wherever else God calls us) is not simply Justin's or mine, but it is the calling of our family. While we will be faithful to serve God and people where and however He calls us to, that commitment runs parallel with a calling and powerful conviction to raise my children well, and to lead them unto God. I would rather have regrets in any other area of my life than with my children, and I have realized and am greatly motivated by the huge responsibility that God has given me as a mother. How humbling to think that I have ever underestimated the power of such a calling. I believe that the affect that I will have on my daughter's (or any future children's') lives' is a more direct impact than I will have on any other person I will face in ministry. God has loaned my daughter to me, to steward, to love, and to raise unto him. I know the ripple effect of that will be beyond my wildest dreams. I believe that I can change the world, in part by being faithful in my chidren's world. I am humbled by the power in that great responsibility and every day seek the grace to do it to the best of my ability. I pray for the grace to be the kind of women that can model to my children the things that I so badly want for them to embrace in life. May they succeed in being greater people than I ever will be.
So while Justin and the rest of the base are busy working unto God's Kingdom with lectures, homework, grading, meetings, outreaches, etc. it is in the quiet of my home that I serve him; set across the backdrop of their to and fro. It is in the inglorious moments of dirty diapers and personal insecurities that I am learning what I have just shared with you. He meets us all in different places, and has great purpose, wherever he places us. This quiet current current among the rushing water is the place where God has met me, changed me, and spurred me on unto his glory.
Blessings to all of you who have cared for us, loved us, and poured into us as we are on this crazy journey of life, love, learning and serving. We love you all and are doing our best to make all of your investments into our lives worth while. We could not do what we do without you.
In loving service of Jesus and the Nations,
Annie, Justin and Ella Frase
