to follow it there.
“Even while we live in the here and now,” says Brett, “God is always preparing us for the next thing. What we’re living now—this is not it. God wants to give us other comforts. He wants us to know mystery, to trust Him, and to wonder. I’m hungry to fulfill what He has made me to do, and He’s redefining what greatness looks like to me.”
Having grown up Catholic, Brett says she had known about God since she was a child. But it was in college that her faith in Christ became real to her, although she readily admits that she struggled with an eating disorder and with periodic bouts of depression. A theater major, Brett remembers participating in a guided exercise in one acting class that became a personal turning point in her life. “Someone is waiting for you,” the instructor said. And as Brett moved toward that “waiting one” in her imagination, she says simply, “It was Jesus. And I knew that it was Him.”
When she reflects on her journey so far, Brett says, “God has shown me so much mercy. When He has a purpose for someone’s life, it will not be thwarted. He’s given me many second chances. I probably shouldn’t even be alive, and I’m the mother of three, expecting another baby and facing a huge change in life without the kind of fear I might have once had. But I believe that what the Bible says in 1 John is true: ‘Perfect love casts out fear’ [4:18 NASB ]. This season for me is about hearing Him in the small things—about learning to serve, to stay hidden, and to esteem others more than myself. I love what He is teaching me. And I want to know Him more.”
Although the move to India was well under way when Brett learned she was expecting, the pregnancy did not change the Trapolinos’ plans. “We did pray about it,” Brett says, “but Kirby and I both believed we were still to go, even though in the world’s eyes, it seemed foolish. We knew that God had opened the door and that there was no other way for us but to go through it.”
As a result of the pregnancy, Brett couldn’t get any of the immunizations recommended for the family before they left the country. And the physician who delivered her first three children issued strong warnings about the prenatal care (or lack of it) she could expect to receive in India.
On her final visit to that physician, Brett prayed that God would speak a blessing over her through her unbelieving doctor, and He did. “She made it clear she was against my going,” says Brett. “And she told me all the things that might go wrong. I didn’t argue with her. I thanked her. But I also told her as gently as I could that I knew God had given us this baby at this time, and that He could care for it even in such difficult circumstances.”
Then, Brett told her very professional, capable, and matter- of-fact physician that she loved and respected her and strongly desired to have her blessing on both her pregnancy and her plans to have the baby in India. And the same doctor who had never demonstrated any overt affection to her patient stood, embraced Brett warmly, and gave her that blessing.
For Brett, it was a very physical reminder of what God continues to do in the lives of those He loves: “God doesn’t run out of blessings. He has a dream for each and every man and woman. Our job is to delight in who He has made us to be—to walk with Him and to rejoice in that. My prayer each day is that God would let us know more and more what it is to fall in love with Jesus—and give us the courage and desire to follow Him anywhere.”
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
(Philippians 4:13 )
3
katherine von bora
Called to Be Different
T iny Katherine von Bora was only five years old when her father left her at the gates of the Benedictine convent school near Brehna, Germany. Katherine’s mother had died that same year, and her father soon remarried. A small daughter was too much of a burden, and her father felt
“Even while we live in the here and now,” says Brett, “God is always preparing us for the next thing. What we’re living now—this is not it. God wants to give us other comforts. He wants us to know mystery, to trust Him, and to wonder. I’m hungry to fulfill what He has made me to do, and He’s redefining what greatness looks like to me.”
Having grown up Catholic, Brett says she had known about God since she was a child. But it was in college that her faith in Christ became real to her, although she readily admits that she struggled with an eating disorder and with periodic bouts of depression. A theater major, Brett remembers participating in a guided exercise in one acting class that became a personal turning point in her life. “Someone is waiting for you,” the instructor said. And as Brett moved toward that “waiting one” in her imagination, she says simply, “It was Jesus. And I knew that it was Him.”
When she reflects on her journey so far, Brett says, “God has shown me so much mercy. When He has a purpose for someone’s life, it will not be thwarted. He’s given me many second chances. I probably shouldn’t even be alive, and I’m the mother of three, expecting another baby and facing a huge change in life without the kind of fear I might have once had. But I believe that what the Bible says in 1 John is true: ‘Perfect love casts out fear’ [4:18 NASB ]. This season for me is about hearing Him in the small things—about learning to serve, to stay hidden, and to esteem others more than myself. I love what He is teaching me. And I want to know Him more.”
Although the move to India was well under way when Brett learned she was expecting, the pregnancy did not change the Trapolinos’ plans. “We did pray about it,” Brett says, “but Kirby and I both believed we were still to go, even though in the world’s eyes, it seemed foolish. We knew that God had opened the door and that there was no other way for us but to go through it.”
As a result of the pregnancy, Brett couldn’t get any of the immunizations recommended for the family before they left the country. And the physician who delivered her first three children issued strong warnings about the prenatal care (or lack of it) she could expect to receive in India.
On her final visit to that physician, Brett prayed that God would speak a blessing over her through her unbelieving doctor, and He did. “She made it clear she was against my going,” says Brett. “And she told me all the things that might go wrong. I didn’t argue with her. I thanked her. But I also told her as gently as I could that I knew God had given us this baby at this time, and that He could care for it even in such difficult circumstances.”
Then, Brett told her very professional, capable, and matter- of-fact physician that she loved and respected her and strongly desired to have her blessing on both her pregnancy and her plans to have the baby in India. And the same doctor who had never demonstrated any overt affection to her patient stood, embraced Brett warmly, and gave her that blessing.
For Brett, it was a very physical reminder of what God continues to do in the lives of those He loves: “God doesn’t run out of blessings. He has a dream for each and every man and woman. Our job is to delight in who He has made us to be—to walk with Him and to rejoice in that. My prayer each day is that God would let us know more and more what it is to fall in love with Jesus—and give us the courage and desire to follow Him anywhere.”
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
(Philippians 4:13 )
3
katherine von bora
Called to Be Different
T iny Katherine von Bora was only five years old when her father left her at the gates of the Benedictine convent school near Brehna, Germany. Katherine’s mother had died that same year, and her father soon remarried. A small daughter was too much of a burden, and her father felt
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