We've sensed that our kids are struggling a bit, and not just with leaving China and their home and friends, but with the uncertainty of where we're going. Of what they don't know.
So this morning, we sat together and made a list of things unknown. Judah and Eden both wrote things like, where will I go to school, will I make any friends, where will we live, will Daddy get a job. Things like that. Zion listened, then asked me how to spell "scared."
So we read the story of Joseph.
My kids knew the story, of Joseph and his coat and dreams and how his brothers sold him to a group of foreigners wondering by. We started reading from there, jotting down, at times, all the things Joseph didn't know. Things like, where he was going, perhaps the language, what to do, what would happen, and why was this happening, because the younger Joseph, the arrogant and selfish Joseph, suffered the consequences for his actions. He was sold. But the after-sold Joseph was different. The Lord was with him, and he was no longer arrogant. But still, bad things happened. Because he did the right thing, he was sent to prison (thank you Potiphar's wife!) and then he was forgotten.
After translating the two dreams for his fellow inmates, the cup bearer is released and once more finds himself serving the king. And for two years, he forgets Joseph. When I read these lines, my whole family gasped.
Another unknown for Joseph, "Why? Why am I not being saved? Why am I forgotten? WHERE ARE YOU GOD!"
Yet, Joseph continued on, trusting God, and doing what he knew was right.
Then one day, he was remembered, lifted up, and became the second in command for all of Egypt.
When we finished reading, we made a list of "What is Known." We wrote that we have a Mom and Dad who love us, brothers and sisters, a God who knows everything and cares for us, and we know we are a family who can enjoy the journey and coming adventure.
The list of unknowns was almost twice as long as the knowns, yet it couldn't tip the scales.
We are known, by a God who knows no end, who knows the future, and who knows what's best. And we have family, friends, and adventure.
And that's enough. For now.