In two and a half days, our family of six will be loading up a van with our luggage, kids, their backpack full of Japanese homework that needs to be completed as well as the English studies they are working on.  We will hopefully have all of the passports, paperwork, ticket emails, car rental info in our backpacks.  (And hopefully we will not forget a backpack as we did last time).  I hope our computers and iPhones will be backed up;  that we will remember our rechargers and snacks for the plane rides and the belt that I bought last time at Ross that still has the security ink tag attached.  In the next two days I pray that we have found a home and transported our 16 year old Maltese, our various fish, and our turtle named Kevin.   We will be lucky if our two boys have new haircuts and if Annie has received some medicine for the rash on her hand.  And will our house be clean and ready for our friends to move in?  Some empty drawers for them to use; the fridge cleaned out, the windows wiped down, keys given out to the right people.  School lunch aprons and gym clothes washed and put away for three months.  Goodbyes to our neighbors, staff, friends.  A few more meetings.  Newsletter sent out, last bills paid….

As my mind was taking off with this list, I suddenly recalled a Bible verse that had hung in our old house – I love this translation!

“Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged by the size of the task, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. He will see to it that all the work…is finished correctly.”
– 1 Chronicles 28:20 NLT

As we stand on the brink of another home assignment, I feel excited for what God will do but also afraid of the size of the task… of all the moving around and packing and repacking (not my strong suit!).  But I love how this starts – and ends.  Be strong and courageous, and do the work.  I just need to do it!  It will come together (it already has!).  And I’ve been so thankful for the different friends who have helped.  I don’t think I can count the number of times we have packed and repacked suitcases in our lives between two cultures, but as I think back I can say for sure that He will not fail me.  He will see us through;  He will help us accomplish what is needed.

I can rest assured, knowing that the God much bigger than our tasks and my fears, is with me.