Saturday, October 18, 2008

Why "from Dearth to Delight"?

For a while now, Derek and I have known that we wanted to create a blog, but up until now there has really been no reason to. Actually, we still don't have a great reason for wanting to start now, except that we have to start sometime and a few events have happened recently that gave us the burning desire to finally "go public." The only problem was - what were we going to name it?! A few very meager attempts were "On the Road Again..." (I think I got the eye roll for that one). "Africa, Here We Come" might have even been one. There were others...all of the same caliber, unfortunately. Then it hit me. Our last name - Dearth - means "shortage, want, scarcity, famine, insufficiency." And within a few minutes, 2 Corinthians 8:9 inspired the title "from Dearth to Delight." Part of the verse is already at the top of the page, but here is the whole thing:

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich."

When Derek and I were dating and I first contemplated taking on this new surname, which means "lack of," I wasn't too thrilled. I wish I could say that I saw clearly then what took me so long to realize now - that the name Dearth is a constant reminder not only of my utter insufficiency before God, but also as a reminder that Jesus Christ took on my name when he came to earth in the form of a baby, slept his first hours in a feeding trough and suffered his last hours on a bloody cross...so that I by his dearth might delight in him forever.

And it doesn't end there, because true delight is meant to spread, right? The more you delight in something the more you tell people about it. Derek and I have always felt God's pull on our hearts toward the nations, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, and we have recently seen God powerfully open a door back to Africa to work with churches and HIV. Pray with us that God will continue to make our way straight and use us to help many Africans move from dearth to delight through Jesus Christ.

And stay tuned for more "from Dearth to Delight."

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Whoohoo! I am so excited you guys started a blog. And what did I hear you say? You have no "good reason to"? Um, I beg to differ. I can't wait to keep up on all the juicy details of your lives - keep posting :)

Anonymous said...

I love your blog name, got an ispirational message from your first posting! I am excited to be able to pray for you guys as you follow God's leading without waiting to hear second hand what's going on.

Anonymous said...

Love the blog...I feel so high tech (tee hee).. i love hearing your thoughts, inspiration and prayerful consideration of your next steps. We will continue to pray for wisdom, patience and guidance with your exciting future!

Love, Amy Riesterer

Cara Herzberg said...

Whoa, Kristen, I am so so so happy to finally find you in cyberspace. I have been wondering what you guys have been up to. I am so happy that you are planning on missions, and that we will be on the same continent again. I would love to hear what your (perceived) schedule is. I see that you are just now finishing school. Good work, girl! Would love to hear from you. Cara
caraherzberg@gmail.com

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