Here’s something immigrants do. They immigrate. (What can I say, except that I’m clearly brilliant with definitions??)

As far as the US goes, the ‘American Dream’ draws many of us to its shores. It’s the dream of owning your own home with a white picket fence where you can raise your kidlings who will eventually go to Ivy League schools, of course, and make it big on Wall Street or the Silicon Valley.

Nothing wrong with that dream, if you ask me.

But, on this day seven years ago, as immigrants who just got our US citizenship, we decided to press pause on the American Dream and move back to India (where my husband and I were born and raised.)

Here’s something immigrants don’t do. They don’t leave the country they’ve immigrated to just when the dream is taking off.

But God prompted us in our hearts to step out of the boat. And after some prayer and some panic attacks about how I’d survive without Costco and Target in my life, we packed our stuff in a shipping container, sold our cars, pulled our kids out of Elementary School, and left our home in a quiet cul-de-sac in Portland, Oregon, to move to an apartment in Bangalore, India.

Before you think of me as a Mother Theresa type who gave it all up to serve the poor, let me set the record straight. We moved with the security of a good job and into the arms of our very-excited extended family in India. This wasn’t a raw deal.

But it did take a huge leap of faith to leave all that was familiar and comfortable and convenient and nice. It meant we had to pull a Peter and get our toesies more than a little wet (Matthew 14: 22-33) as we plunged into uncertainty.

In the year we made the big transition, the worship song ‘Oceans’ was doing the rounds at church. The lyrics resonated with me deeply: Spirit, lead me where my trust is without borders,  Let me walk upon the waters, Wherever You would call me.

Like the incident of Peter walking on water in Scripture, we stepped into the metaphorical “great unknown.” Here are seven lessons I learned along the way in the last seven years:

1. When you step out of the boat, there’ll be raised eyebrows

What were the other disciples doing when Peter jumped onto the waves? I’m guessing their jaws hit the bottom of the deck as they wondered: “Er, is this chap crazy or is he crazy?” When God calls you to something, by all means, seek the advice of a trusted few. But also know that many will think that you’re making a mistake. Leaving the land of milk and honey and moving to the land of mayhem and holy messes? Certifiably craazy. But let the peace in your heart trump the preconceived notions of people around you.

2. When you step out of the boat, may it be about obedience and not merely adventure

As believers, our primary goal isn’t to be adventure seekers looking for thrills and spills. Don’t just step on the water because you want an adrenalin rush (Only to blame God when you’re soaking wet and have the sniffles.) Go, because God tells you to go. Stay, because He says stay. There’s blessing in obedience — not in simply taking an impulsive risk. Even the impetuous Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” It’s only when Jesus says, “Come,” does Peter dare make a move.

3. When you step out of the boat, the wind and waves won’t cease

Don’t assume that when you’re in God’s will, it will be smooth sailing. When Peter decided to disembark, the winds blew fiercely around him. When we first moved to India, the ‘winds’ looked like our children feeling sick on the way to school because the roads were so full of potholes. The winds looked like a 1.5-hour commute for my husband who had worked 10 minutes from home for 15 years in the US. The winds looked like not knowing where we would live and if we would be able to adjust. But we found this quote to hold true: God doesn’t lead you where His grace cannot keep you.

4. When you step out of the boat, doubt will surface

Peter stepped out, looked at the wind, and gave into fear. When you obey God in doing the unconventional, uncomfortable, inconvenient thing, you will most likely ask yourself, “Have I completely messed things up?” When I looked at social media pictures of our friends’ lives (and homes and vacations) in the US, I often wondered if we had made the right decision. But if we were completely self-assured, we wouldn’t need to trust the Lord, would we?

5. When you step out of the boat, keep looking to Jesus

Here’s a guarantee: It’s all going to get pretty overwhelming at some point. And like Peter, you may start to sink. You may begin to say to yourself, “I just can’t.” And you’re right. You can’t. Not on your own anyway. It’s only when we realize our absolute helplessness that, like Peter, we can truly cry out: “Lord, save me!” Look to Jesus during those times of overwhelm and His hand will steady you and lead you to safety.

6. When you step out of the boat, your faith will be built

In times of testing, faith has the opportunity to grow. In times of resting, faith has the tendency to slow. My apologies if I sound like a preacher from the mid-80s with my rhyming statements, but I’ve discovered that to be true. Over the last seven years, I’ve reached the pinnacle of faith. JUST KIDDING. Of course, I haven’t. I’m a work in progress and, like good ol’ Pete, I tend to be a person of “little faith.” Yet, I believe that God is pleased by that mustard seed faith and loves to grow it for His glory.

7. When you step out of the boat, you’ll find that God is faithful

When all else fails, when I falter and things fall apart, God remains faithful. As the song ‘Oceans’ goes: “His grace abounds in deepest waters.” In the last seven years, we’ve experienced blessing upon blessing. But we’ve also been broken by fractured friendships, chronic illness, sudden hospitalization, work stress, the pandemic, and even the passing of my dear father-in-law — but through all the storms God held us till the winds grew quiet and we found our rest in Him.

If God is prompting you to step out in obedience, do it. If He is prompting you to stay put, that’s what is best for you in this season. But through it all, may we testify to His grace and say, “You’ve never failed and You won’t start now.”

 

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