A Journey to Freedom

2 Corinthians 3:17

Now the Lord is the spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Freedom.

Freedom in Christ, I hope you have it! But today I want to gift you the story of our family’s journey to Freedom. By now I think you know Jesus saved us from our sins, the world, and a hell-bound eternity, but this is the story of how Jesus saved our family from the ever popular fast and more mentality our society preaches. Not to say we hide in a hole or mandate our kids to never glimpse at media but this is the story of slow and less for our family.

In 2014, I had my first child- she came into the arms of a mom who felt very equipped and soon realized she had much to learn. Her entrance into my life gave me an excuse to say no to the things I once felt obligated to do. I was a pastor’s wife in this season and many of the things were GOOD things to be involved in but that didn’t mean I felt called to pursue them.

My daughter gave me the gift of saying no. No was my first step to slow and less. No eventually led me to say no to a 9-5 job that had me extremely stressed and literally drowning at home each night. In learning to say No to my job, I then was pushed to learn the art of No to materialistic things in my life and here is where the lesson of less entered my life.

Everything hinges on No. We don’t like the word no, we throw fits, cry, scream and beg for a different answer sometimes but this No was one I controlled. This No brought freedom to our home.



Fast-forward to 2016, I had 2 kids at home with me and a Husband in full-time ministry. This is the season I said YES (no isn’t always the answer friends) to a short-term mission trip with my husband. He had been leading teams to Honduras for a few years and I finally felt it was my time to go. My husband had returned from each mission trip to Honduras with a passion to go back and serve full time. He would daydream about it and try to convince me that we should move. I would roll my eyes, pat his head, and tell him he would come off the mountaintop soon enough- I mean guys I am a great wife can’t you tell. I had experience short and long-term missions and I knew the drill, the excitement, the hype that you feel when you return from those truly amazing experiences. I also knew he would come down off the mountain as I had many times over.  

In August 2016, I put my yes on the table, I packed my bags and hopped on a plane with my husband and a few others ready to eat some amazing food and love on some Hondurans. I went with eyes and ears wide open. I was processing the entire time- could we live here, could I drive on these roads, could my children go to school here… it was a silent interview on my part.

Guess what?! I came back ready to fundraise and get to Honduras by the following school year. And you know what my booger of a husband did… rolled his eyes, patted my head and said you will get over it. I am kidding he didn’t really do that, but he did completely shoot the idea down. Our church wasn’t in a place to lose us. He threw all the excuses I once tossed on him right back at me. We have student loans, we have a house, we have young kids, we have financial security here… after 2 months of trying to bust through a brick wall I dropped it.

On March 11th 2017 it happened. The conversation that would change our life. That night lying

in bed pillow talk sounded a lot like

I want to go to Honduras!

You want to Go to Honduras?

How do we both get to Honduras?

And then in a blink my Husband said “Maybe we should move to Honduras. Maybe we are meant to be there more than just a week.”

Before completely freaking out and letting our minds run wild we wanted to make sure our presence was needed in Honduras. We didn’t want to fabricate some fun adventure for our family that may not be in the will of God. We reached out to our missionary friends on the field… and their quick response blew us away.

There was a need for an Art and Drama Teacher at our mission’s bilingual school. First you should know, this is my degree and secondly, this had been part of the school’s five-year plan and this was year five!

I was thrilled. Could you make it any clearer God?!

Joseph had no interest in teaching young kids. He has frequent nightmares about them overthrowing him and torturing him. Not exaggerating. So naturally the question was posed- what ministry could Joseph participate in? Again, the reply floored us- our missionary friends had begun praying 3 days earlier that someone would come and help train pastors to reach the Next Generation of Honduras. Youth Ministry- what my husband knows best and is most equipped in doing!

For me, at that moment I was sure of the call on our hearts to go to Honduras. For my husband, he needed some time. We agreed to a month of prayer before setting our minds to a specific path. Well, you have probably guessed the end of the story, but 16 months after silently interviewing Honduras we landed here as a family of four ready to take on whatever ministry God placed at our feet.

Let’s get back to freedom for a second as I wrap this up. God called our hearts to action years before He called us to Honduras. He put convictions specifically in our hearts about our packed-out schedule, lack of boundaries, and mixed up priorities. He put convictions on my heart regarding the abundance of materialistic things filling our closets, kitchen cabinets, toy boxes and even under the bathroom sink… Y’all who needs 13 bodywashes?! As the keeper of our home, I was called to clean out the fluff a full year and a half before I could piece together why God had called me to only have one boiling pot under my fancy kitchen island. Clearing the stuff from your life- focusing on slow and less makes saying yes to the Big things God calls you to much easier.

In this journey, we have found a new freedom. The freedom that truly walking in faith brings. The freedom to reset from a society of fast and more and continue to embrace slow and less. My encouragement to you today dear sister is that you would follow those heart convictions. You may feel they are tiny, you may feel there is no bigger picture to those small callings in your life but you never know what the bigger picture may hold for you. Say yes to God today in whatever He is pushing you towards.

I will leave you with this dear friend: Galatians 5:13

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

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If our journey has intrigued you or if you want to connect with us, you can learn more about our ministry and reach out on the following platforms. If you are navigating a season of slow and less I would love to recommend some great reads and support you in the journey.

www.nextgenhonduras.com

Facebook: Rebecca Hammett Bennett

Instagram: @Slow_Lane_Living

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