Fruit of the spirit: faithfulness

by Sarah Satterblom

I’m incredibly thankful that we have a faithful God who loves and leads us.  I’m particularly thankful for the times He leads us clearly, using both the closed doors and the open doors.  And what a gift it is when I look at an open door and, in my gut, know “this is one I should walk through.”  Our Tenwek Hospital mission trip was an example of God opening doors and us knowing to walk through.

With 7 people (myself, my husband, and 5 children), emotions about it varied.  For me, this was a door I wanted to run through with excitement!  Going on a mission trip as a family was fulfillment of a dream that I had long ago written off as not going to happen.  God was giving me the desires of my heart in His time, and I was so grateful! For some of my children, the door of the plane was hard to walk through and the fear of what they would miss out on was heavy.  For them it was a “swallow the lump in your throat” moment, a choice to step through the door in faith and find out if God is faithful and good on the other side.  No matter our feelings, we all could agree on one thing – God was leading us to do this.

I’m so thankful we stepped through those doors because we would have missed out on a lot if we gave in to hesitations and uncertainties!

We saw that God’s timing is amazing!  These doors opened when all my kids were still under my roof, 6 weeks off of work were granted, all of us were in good health, and there was increased patient care needs.  We were at Tenwek for 35 of the 56-day nationwide doctor strike in Kenya, which meant Kyle served in Casualty (their Emergency Department) while the patient load was increased by 40% and the acuity of patients was higher.  

We also got front row seats to see that God answers prayers. Prayers for healing, provision, perspective, and peace.  One patient we prayed for was a patient Kyle treated in Casualty with a chest laceration that was so deep it knicked the lung and Kyle could see the beating heart inside the gaping wound.  Amazingly, the patient survived and was discharged from the hospital 5 days later!  

We were blessed by visiting the Pediatric Ward often.  It was special to see each of my children jump in to give a greeting, pass out gifts, instruct crafts, and visit with and pray over patients.  Even if there was a language barrier, patients would agree to being prayed over.  It was a special privilege for us to enter into this place and take their situation to the throne of Heaven.  We saw healing happen, we saw wind blown into deflated sails, strength and trust increased during hard situations, and faith in the face of fear over the wellbeing of a child.        

As a mama during this trip, I saw that God’s grace was more than enough.  Whatever came our way, no matter how hard, God’s grace was enough to handle the situation.  Unmet expectations, plans changing, a child breaking a bone, jetlag, stomach bugs… His grace was enough for all of it.  Upon arrival, there were some electrical problems in the house which caused one of our children to get electrocuted.  By God’s grace I wasn’t paralyzed by fear as my mama heart could have been, and we all recovered quickly to keep serving and thriving.

Walking through this series of doors taught us many things.  For example, I kept looking for a big, amazing way to serve.  I figured I would just serve in whatever way presented itself as an option as I waited for “the” reason I was here.  I came across this quote: “Ministry is about finding a place to serve, not a place to shine”.  This along with Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” really convicted me that I need to faithfully say yes to serving in tasks of any size and do it for Him and His glory.  

We are forever changed because of these open doors.  The welcoming and joyful spirit of the Kenyan people challenged us to be like them.  We saw the value of slowing down, practiced the skill of handling awkwardness, trusted God in the midst of unknown, tuned in to see God’s work, increased our flexibility, and basked in the awe of God’s creation.  

Recalling God’s faithfulness on the other side of this doorway makes us desire to say an emphatic YES and faithfully step through the next door God flings open for us! 

---

Sarah and her husband, Kyle, have called Calvary home for many years. She is a homeschooling mom of 5 who is trying to savor the moments in this busy but sweet life stage.  She wishes summer could last forever with the beautiful weather, garden growing, and collecting herbs for her tea making. She loves a good authentic conversation and seeing the evidence of God’s fingerprints all around.