Thankful for Thistles

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Thankful for Thistles

By Betsy Tejeda, Texas/Mexico Border Ministries
January-March 2014

I never thought I’d be thankful for Texas thistles. When we moved to McAllen, Texas, to serve at Taylor Community Center, we quickly realized that the grass was deceptive. Unlike our plush grass in Indiana, south Texas grass is riddled with small thistles that cause a lot of pain to unsuspecting feet! It didn’t take my two toddlers long to realize that if they went outside, their feet had better be properly clad so they wouldn’t get espinas (Spanish for thorns).

Around Easter, my son Jayden brought home a set of Resurrection Eggs from Taylor Christian School. I used the eggs to share the Easter story with my kids. When I got to the sixth egg and pulled out a small laminated paper with a picture of a crown of thorns, the boys knew instantly that they were espinas. I explained that the soldiers had placed those thorns on Jesus’ head, and my little boys, who knew very well the pain associated with thistles, grew very concerned for Jesus.

“Ouchie! Espinas hurt!”

“The bad soldiers hurt Jesus!”

Months later, the boys still remember the pain Jesus suffered. Because of their personal experience with Texas thistles, my boys caught a glimpse of Jesus’ suffering. As we serve God in Texas, thistles have helped us clarify to our children what we do. We get to share Jesus’ suffering, His love, and His resurrection with others.

In the spirit of this issue, I ask you to partner with me in prayer for missionary kids. It is hard for them to share their parents with so many people. Pray that the Lord will give missionary parents wisdom as we balance ministry while raising our kids to love the same Jesus we share with others. Pray for God to touch each MK’s heart to receive all the amazing love of Jesus. Enough love to wear espinas.

PRAY: Join the MK prayer partnership. WGM offers a monthly prayer calendar that lists a different MK each day of the month to help guide your prayers. Print or view the calendar at www.wgm.org/praycal.