For the Love of Packing....

 “Lifting up his eyes then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?’  He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do.”   John 6:5-6

Since the writing of our last blog post/letter our lives have changed in some very significant ways!  God has been allowing some tests in our lives.

I must confess that when we listed our house I never thought it would sell in less than a month.  To say that our lives have been speeding by in a flurry of packing, moving, selling, and trying to figure out a few details for our arrival in Costa Rica, would be an understatement to say the least.  

We have been living an episode of “Hoarders” as we try to load and move things that we will need between now and when we leave, price and arrange things for a large scale garage sale, pack for Costa Rica, and haul things to a storage unit that we will keep here in Tuscaloosa.  As you can imagine getting each item into the right pile is a challenge in itself, but there are also those pesky items that qualify for several piles.......  

In addition we moved from a 3 bedroom 2 bath into a 2 bedroom 1 bath, so trying to find a new home for everything is fun too.  To help you with a mental picture of our lives I’ll share this story.  Kaleb was in our dining room one morning and pulled out a chair to sit down for breakfast.  After pulling it out he got a funny look on his face when he realized that he could not climb over the pile between himself and the now open seating.  He then had to walk all the way around the table in order to get back to the chair that he had just pulled out to sit down.  He then looked at me and said, “Dad, this is a little over the top!”.

In addition there are the doubts.  I’ve found that when I’m following close to Jesus I am ready to be in Costa Rica right now!  Then there are the times when other voices start to tell me that, “This will never work out!”  or, “Why would God send you there without telling you why you are going?” and the ever persistent, “What about a job?”.

My beautiful wife and her new found friend in a Costa Rican orphanage.

In the midst of the chaos I came across the verse at the top of this page, and I found comfort in it.  Did you see the part where it says “He said this to test him”?  Jesus had things all figured out and didn’t need Philips help, but He loved Philip enough take the opportunity to grow him through the experience.  He tested Philip and Philip didn’t even score that well, but Philip learned to trust Jesus on a deeper level and got to see God’s perfect plan worked out.  

That is a truth that I am holding on to at this time in my life.  He is bringing tests into our lives because He loves us!  He is trying to grow me!  He is watching my steps and my expression to see the look on my face when I see the whole picture!  I love that, even though I may not enjoy the hard times.

Please don’t get me wrong, this past month has been a very rich time in our families life.  It has not all been testings and doubts.  We get to see Him in the little things like people wanting to buy items at our garage sale that we didn’t even know we were selling, and unexpected notes and calls from friends and family with verses and words of encouragement.  We also get to stretch our faith with our children’s in praying for guidance and for our lives to bring God glory.

Our lives are an adventure and we love it!  Please continue to pray for us as we do our best to be faithful to His call in our lives, because we are gettin to see the results of your prayers!  

Until next time,

The Ridderings

My family visiting some friends at an orphanage in Costa Rica in 2012.  Can't wait to see these people again!

P.S. - Although we do not know yet what we will be doing once we get to Costa Rica we are only going because we feel lead to and are trying to be faithful to His call.  We have been accepted into an organization called World Outreach Ministries.  If you want to support our ministry, the fastest way is to make an Online Donation via www.WorldOutreach.org/donations -- and select Aaron & Faith Riddering from the list.  The system can process USA & International cards and bank drafts.  You can also set up automatic monthly Gifts with your credit card or bank draft if you choose the "Monthly" option.  Or simply mail your check to:  World Outreach Ministries, PO Box B, Marietta, GA 30061 and designate for Aaron & Faith Riddering #239.