Would I Do It Again?

This move to France has been a seismic shift in our family dynamic. But would I do it all over again? Yes, yes, and yes I would do it again!  

As a stay-at-home mom, a special needs mom, a homeschool mom, and a pastor's wife for the past 14 years, I have lived in roles that are often under-appreciated and overworked, and I know many others who feel the same even if they don't fit in those 4 boxes.

My family has had to re-arrange priorities with my commitment to dive deep into French this first year.  Burdens have to be shared.  Nothing is beneath anyone to do or help with. Newsflash to a Christian household:  we are all servants.

The best way I can explain this is with an illustration. After attending a women's welcome event on a school night from 7:30-10:00 pm, because most evening events start late in Paris to accommodate working women and most women do work, I returned home to an extra plate of food reserved for me, candle lit, kitchen cleaned (this is before we installed a dishwasher mid-November), laundry folded, kids ready for bed, school bags packed and clothes out for the next school day.

I felt like my mother had made a surprise visit, because the thoughtful details showed a tenderness of heart. My husband had accomplished it all with a little help from the kids.

We all want to be noticed, to be remembered and we all have different ways that make us feel loved. As I am lacking a skill - in this case, French language - and I need to go to language class, I love seeing my family collapse ranks and pitch in as a team.  I have always been able to manage a lot of plates in the air at once, but what is the purpose if I am not raising other leaders and multiplying the effect?

I will never trade how much my family has chipped in to do the tedious, monotonous tasks that keep a family of 5 humming along in a new culture with a new language in a small house and plenty of new "inconveniences".

Thankfully, all of my children would say the same. They are enjoying their new life in France, and although they miss speaking English and some American culture but mostly speaking and listening to English all day, they would do it all over again!  

Linda T serves with her family as a GlobalGrace missionary in Paris, France