Page 66 - Senior Link Magazine Winter 2022 - Online Magazine

Focus
FAMILY

Not a
HEZEKIAH by Callie Boyd

ing Hezekiah, when faced
with his own destruction,
Kturned his face to the wall and
prayed for mercy. Later, the Prophet
returned, telling Hezekiah that peace
would mark his life, but his lineage
would be taken into slavery. His
response was NOT to turn his face in
prayer but rather to think in his heart
. . . “at least it won’t happen during my
lifetime.” This is one of the saddest,
most short-sighted attitudes to carry.

When my husband, Randy, and I
started Prepare International, we
had previously both coached and
pastored. I say ‘we’ because, as
Randy and I married, we believed the world, building relationships, kids to live a life, surrendered and
intertwined with the heart of God.
while establishing unusual training
we were to do everything as a family.
This was not easy, and we were not schools emphasizing Jesus and His We want this Kingdom of God
passed into the next generations!
Kingdom. Our three kids traveled
perfect parents, but we learned.
Plus, our American culture is not with us. At 6-years-old, they could When we attended a World Mandate
share a 6-minute testimony with
conducive to kids being intricately mission conference, the speaker
involved in everything you do that translation. They experienced God asked for those who would go to
moving through them to change
can be so visible. Thankfully, in our the hard places for God to stand.
early years, God aligned us with hearts and nations. Randy and I in Our kids were scattered among our
NO WAY did everything perfectly.
coaches and pastors who reinforced friends. I saw Josiah stand, then
this path of FAMILY. We failed over and over. I asked for
forgiveness often. But we were able Bethany; then little Hannah stood up
After an intense searching and to tap into His grace to purposefully on a chair. I felt a nudge from God to
surrendering all to God as a family, enter our children’s world of play stand. I thought, “We already go to
Europe, and it is considered post-
we left pastoring to join Prepare and bring them into ours of passion
International. Soon we were thrust for Jesus and His world. Unlike Christian.” But the nudge persisted.
I felt God saying that I was to stand
into the helm of PI and were traveling Hezekiah, we have desired our
to signify that I, their mother, would
get out of their way, that I would not
make it emotionally hard for our kids
to follow and go where God says.
I was challenged several times on
this point, especially when our son
and wife moved to Krakow, Poland.
Multiple times with all six (our three
are married), I’ve declared to the
Lord and found grace so that we are
stewards of our kids. They are His,
and He loves them more than we do.
I will not emotionally manipulate. I
will not get in God’s way.
Right before I joined the
“Grandparent Club,"” events were
not working out the way I thought
they should. I prayed, “Either
this works, or it doesn’t!” Almost

66 Lubbock Senior Link