“Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin.” James 4.17, NASB

“But whoever has the world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abind in him?  Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”  1 John 3.17-18, NASB

We have moved.  Stacks of boxes now litter a condominium (could be renamed condominimum) as we attempt to adjust a five bedroom family into a two bedroom home.  For nearly one year Michelle and I and our children attempted to sell our home.  We finally gave up and took the house off the market.  Two days later we received an offer that we could accept and we did.  The sale closed about a month later.

We are exhausted.  Between the preparation to move, the move, dealing with the “evil empire” (our bank) and trying to figure out how to make the best use of a third of the space we so recently enjoyed (and filled) we are stretched to the limit in every way.

I am proud.  My son and daughters have done very well overall.  They have willingly let go of their freedom, independence and space so dad can take them on one of his crazy adventures.

I am humbled.  My lovely wife traded the comforts of a home she worked on for nearly eight years to begin again, with much less.  It amazes me how many useful things we acquired had to go away. 

I am grateful.  A lot of our friends helped generously as we went through this process.  Moving requires as many hands as possible and we used the help of a good sized group.  Some of our friends still store “stuff” we have no idea what to do with; stuff that made it past a garage sale and Craigslist.

Why?

I have long held the opinion we had more “house” than we needed.  However, I enjoyed the space as much as anyone else and busied myself with varied and sundry projects.  After going to Uganda, my opinion transformed into a passion.

My family is growing older and more distant from each other.  The busyness of our lives is becoming frantic.  I have witnessed the formation of nearly separate existences as the “Franklin five” go about the duties and interests of the day.  Being connected enough to hurt when each other hurts and to celebrate each other’s joys is a core value of my family.  No cost was too high to pay to make one last stab at creating that kind of a community in my home.

I desperately want all three of my children to have a well-developed and experienced Christian worldview.  Since the “adoption” of three young people in Uganda, I have been scheming how I could arrange for my American family to meet and understand their new siblings in Africa.  The days have become short for me to do anything with all of them together.  This window was open and I prayed ferverently that God would make it possible to experience what I experienced without them  in Uganda…together.

There were many miracles along the way:  We could not have gone if our house had not sold, Michelle was able to “buy” extra vacation from her employer, the condominium was reduced in price at the last minute, Ryan was unable to get a summer position due to the crummy economy, friends sacrificed time and money and resources to support us even without us asking. 

I get one more big opportunity to live out my faith in a way my children can witness, and choose for themselves, whether or not to live flat-out, no-holds committed to Christ.

I must be clear.  The sacrifices made for this move belong primarily to my family.  We were in no imminent financial danger, but if I had been a wiser steward of money in the past perhaps I could have held on to the house and taken my entire family to Uganda.  As it stood just a month ago, Uganda as a family was financially impossible.  Michelle and I do plan on taking advantage of owing less and having less…we will see what God has in store.

Finally, I am haunted by the instruction and challenge given through James and John.  I know I have a long way to go, but I desperately desire to “do the good I know to do” and to be open handed with my Christian family in deed and truth.  I guess I can genuinely say, “I’ve been moved.”