'Tis the Season — TeamDockrey

We cannot even believe that a whole semester of living in Germany has already flown by! Christmas is only a few days away!!Early in this Christmas season, I thought I was doing such a good job of checking things off the list as I purchased a Christmas tree AND ornaments online from Ikea at a very affordable price. We did not bring a single Christmas decoration with us in our 15 suitcases, so we were starting from scratch.The delivery from Ikea came and I was quite skeptical as I looked at the boxes that the delivery man handed me. They were TINY!My Christmas tree has never been shorter than me ... until now.The incredible deal I thought I was getting on 2 dozen Christmas ornaments were TINY!

I was ready to feel sorry for myself and sulk about what I was missing back home. We have actually had the same artificial massive Christmas tree since the very first Christmas that we were married - 19 Christmases ago!!But God has given me the absolute best family in the world. Magnolia absolutely adores her Christmas tree. The boys decorated it like they always do and are perfectly content. Lance assured me over and over that our German Ikea Christmas tree was perfect.

Yet, in the midst of this excitement, the holiday season certainly reminds us of the sacrifice we've made to follow God's call to this place, away from our friends and family. I realize we are still very much in the honeymoon phase of this "transition" and so I am confident that the longing to be with our friends and family for the holidays will be much more intense in the years to follow. But we still feel it now all the same.However, God is so incredibly faithful. He has very much protected our hearts and held us up in this season. But most of all, He is so faithful to reaffirm our calling to be here, to remind us of the importance of the job He's asked us to do.This picture is at one of the dorms - its the board they use daily to keep track of which students are where at any given time. Typically, it will say school or basketball game or a friends house. When the holidays hit, though, and they all travel home to their families, this is what the board looks like. It's a very visual reminder of the sacrifices these missionary families have made in order to walk in accordance with God's will for His Name to be proclaimed to the ends of the earth.

It makes our small sacrifice to leave the comforts of home and choose to enjoy our tiny Christmas tree, so worth it.It makes us so incredibly confident and resolved to hold these families up by loving and investing in their students.Thank you to all of you who have sacrificed in order for us to be here - our desire is to honor that sacrifice and bring glory to God as we love these missionaries well. Please pray for us as we continue to find partners in this ministry to commit to regular financial support.Now, 'tis the season to celebrate our Savior! Merry Christmas from TeamDockrey!