Will I offer God something that cost me nothing?

It must be a good 17 or so years ago that we sat in a classroom at bible college listening to a couple share about some tough experiences overseas.  One of them involved exposing their young daughter to very substandard  healthcare (they are both medical doctors themselves - heightening their conflict over the situation) because this was all that was available.  Afterwards they did some soul-searching, wondering what they were doing serving God at a potentially high cost to their precious children.  They referred to various scriptures which God used to speak to them, and left us with the place that they came to, a question...."Will I offer God something that cost me nothing?"

Their words have replayed in my mind many times since then and have been running through my thoughts more than usual in recent days.  We praise God for clear evidence of His grace in the lives of our kids...but that doesn't mean they don't frequently struggle with being here.  Social networking is great but it does mean they're well aware of what their friends are up to back home and of what they're missing out on.  They don't have any real friends here to speak of, and while they enjoy many aspects of their schooling system, it comes with a host of challenges too.  This week we've had some tears...and there were some last week too...

It's one of the hardest things as a parent to see your children struggling, and more so when there's nothing you can do to "fix" the problem.  I've considered this week that I could get mad with God because it's hard and I'm having a difficult time dealing with the challenges...or I can consider these are my gift to Him - a gift that is worth something because it is costly to me.

I should add that I also believe I can trust God with my children because He has led us here and He is in the business of redeeming and making good every situation we trust to Him.  That's 'good' in His economy of course...so 'good' doesn't mean easy, but it does mean growing grace, character, strength, faith, perseverance...  I do believe that my/our obedience means the best for my children, and me/us - but that's not the same as the easiest or most comfortable.