by RTF Staff Writer Jamin Goecker

Perseverance is something all of us will need at some time or another. When I think about perseverance, I think about my family when they moved to Japan from Texas last summer.

I come from an Air Force family so we’re used to moving around a lot, but last summer was a move like none other.

First off, my older brother and I weren’t going with them. That was hard for all of us, but even without my older brother and me going, my mom and dad had to transport 5 kids across the country.

After all our stuff was gone, my family’s official orders were delayed in getting to them, which meant that they were stuck for a couple weeks. I won’t lie, though, that’s one delay I enjoyed.

The day finally came for them to head across the country, however, and we said our goodbyes. My brother and I planned on driving out to see them off in Washington State before they left the country, but it was still hard to say goodbye.

About a week after they left, our dog, which had been with us for nearly 18 years, died in an accident.

My brother and I drove out to meet the family before they flew out to Japan. They were about as happy to see us as we were to see them, but it was obvious they were exhausted and ready for the move to be over so they could get back to normal life.

The day arrived for them to fly out, and we filed out of the hotel to load stuff into our van….

The van was gone. Someone had stolen it (who thinks it’s a good idea to steal a red, 15-passenger van, I’d like to know?). My family never leaves stuff in hotel parking lots, but this one time they left a lot of their luggage in the van, along with passports and other important documents.

Getting new passports, they were told, would take anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months.

I could keep going with more and more details of this epic adventure, but I don’t like just talking about bad things that happened. I’m sure you get the point.

What I learned from my family’s trip is that even though everything seems to be falling apart, God is in control. We don’t need to know what God is doing. We don’t need to “feel” like He knows what He’s doing. He has a plan, no matter what the circumstance.

My parents were great role models of this. They were stressed out, but they trusted that God knew what he was doing.
As the Bible says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV).

(btw, my family finally did make it to Japan and I’m going there this Christmas break!)

Jamin Goecker is a college student who enjoys hanging out with teens. He’s taking general classes right now but plans to be a missionary someday. He enjoys songwriting, guitar, lifting weights, skydiving, paintballing, ultimate frisbee, running, hiking, and fishing. You can check out his blog at scribe-jamin.blogspot.com.