"Goodbye For Now"

 

Yesterday we said goodbye to a couple more missionary units from our team. 

 

 

As I ran with God this morning, I was thinking about all of the many "goodbyes" to teammates we’ve said over a few short years.  There are so many.  The Daniels families, the Holtons, Lauren, Sam, the Wilsons, Josey, Emily, the Scarboroughs, the Stockerts, the Duboses, and now the Pekareks and Autumn.  Many of those are people who Derek and I have really tried to pursue, invest in, and treat like family.  So many homeschool sessions and Bible study meetings with dear missionary children I may never see again. Countless coffee dates with women who have left… most likely never to return.  An abundance of play dates for Finn and Skye with friends who no longer live here.  

 

 

I was thinking about the blog post I wrote three years ago entitled, “Missionary Marriages—Not what you Think.”  This is the other side of that coin.  

 

 

In order to really function as the body of Christ with people you have to invest in them, be vulnerable with them, and pursue kingdom advancement with them like you might with a spouse, yet the nature of the mission we’re called to means that just as quickly as we unite ourselves to others, we may also be called to release them and say “goodbye, for now.” 

 

 

This is an aspect of missionary life that I think most people don’t realize.  I certainly didn’t.  Everyone thinks about the huge life transition that a missionary goes through when they uproot their family and move to another country, and of the huge learning curve and burden to settle into life in a new place and new community.  But what I think most don’t realize is that the transition is much more than a one-time thing.  You don’t just say goodbye when you get on the plan in your home country.  Many of us are forced to say goodbye to dear friends every year or two.  We quickly become like family with our missionary teammates, and then after a year or two they leave (either for an extended furlough back home, or quite often to follow the Lord’s call elsewhere).  To be a missionary in this day and age is really to adopt a lifestyle of “goodbye for now.”

 

 

This is hard—the balance of loving yet holding loosely.  Is it not one of the chief struggles of our human existence?  Yet this is exactly what Jesus Christ modeled for us.  He threw himself into deep, deep relationship with 12 men (really, it was probably quite a few more than that) who He knew He would say goodbye to after 3 short years.  Not only that, but He knew that they would be forced to say goodbye to Him.  

 

 

I think the nature of life and loss in this world can cause us to be extremely selective with who we allow into our inner circle.  Missionary life could certainly do that to you.  As much as we move and watch our friends move it can be easy to maintain walls around our hearts to protect us from the constant hurt of saying goodbye.  But I am encouraged and inspired by the example of Christ.  And so, I will try to continue pursuing and loving people, and make the most of the time I have with them.  And through it all I will endeavor to recognize the constancy of God’s Holy Spirit in them, loving me through each one, and never ever leaving me for good.

 

~ Laura

Spanish Blog: Discovering the Mystery of Faith and Prayer

  *Click here to read the story behind my Spanish Blog

 

At age seven or eight my mother bought a series of books about the lives of fictitious children who interacted with real missionaries.  I loved these books.  My particular favorite was one about a parentless boy who lived at an orphanage run by George Muller in England.  I was fascinated with the faith that Mr. Muller demonstrated and the way in which God repeatedly and immediately answered his prayers. 

 

I remember one true story about George Muller sitting down to a meal with all 300 of the children at the orphanage.  The table was set and utensils were ready, but they had no food to eat.  At Mr. Muller’s direction, they folded their hands and thanked God for the food they were about to eat.  At that very moment, a baker knocked at the door who explained that the night before, God had told him to bring bread to Mr. Muller for the children to eat.  Shortly after that, a milkman knocked at the door and explained that his cart had broken down and all of the milk would soon spoil before the wheel could be fixed, so he wanted to donate it to the orphanage.  George Muller believed that God would always provide for His children, and He acted and prayed accordingly. 

 

At this young age, God had begun to show me His character through the lives of His servants from ages past.  As I read real stories of how God acted supernaturally throughout time to bless, teach, and use His children, I am slowly convinced more and more that God and spiritual realities have just as much or more impact in this world than the things that we can see and touch.

 

We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:18

 

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ~ Hebrews 11:1

 

~ Laura

Spanish Blog: The Supernatural

    *Click here to read the story behind my Spanish Blog

 

Ever since I was a young child, I have been fascinated by the supernatural.  My parents regularly read Bible stories to me when I was quite young, and I distinctly recall being especially entranced with a story accompanying a picture of an angel coming to speak to Mary, who would become Jesus’ mother.  Angels were always a fascination of mine.  One day my dad read me the verse about how some have entertained angels without realizing it (Hebrews 13:2) and for a long time after that I also had a great fascination with strangers, convinced that there were angels walking around right before my eyes, and all I had to do was figure out which people they were.  

 

 

My father was always ready to talk about spiritual realities with me.  When I was four years old, he often took me on walks along trails in a local park.  These trails would lead through both woods and grassy fields—through both shade and sun.  I loved these dates with my father and sometimes we would walk so far that my young legs would get sore and my father was forced to carry me on the return trip.  As we walked we talked about many things and sang goofy songs.  I also remember serious conversations, though.  

 

There was a grave site along one of these trails that was very intriguing to me.  It was at the side of this lone grave that I learned about death.  I had heard of death before, because I knew my babysitter’s dad had died.  This grave site in the park prompted a lot of questions for me.  My father used this opportunity to share with me how I could be sure to go to heaven when I die.  He explained that the Bible tells us if we are sorry for our sins and accept what Jesus did on the cross as payment for those sins, then we can become children of God and go to heaven when we die.  I believed this and wanted to obey God and learn more about Him. 

 

One day after one of these walks in the park with my dad, I remember bowing at the couch in our living room with my dad and asking Jesus to by my savior.  I was excited. That was the beginning my personal relationship with my King.  He orchestrated my life, my circumstances, and even my desires such that I would see the truth and accept Him as my Lord and Savior.  As I have come to know Him better, I stand more and more in awe of His powerful working in the world and His incredible affection toward me.

 

 

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,  not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. ~ Ephesians 2:8-10

 

 

When did you first sense God trying to get your attention?  When did you first ask questions about why we’re here and what comes next? 

 

~ Laura

Spanish Blog: All of Life is Spiritual

   *Click here to read the story behind my Spanish Blog

Friends in Cusco, it seems to me that your culture has a better understanding of the coherence of the sacred and the secular than my own culture.  While my own culture staunchly compartmentalizes the things of God from “everything else,” you recognize that all of life is spiritual, seeking to honor your gods not only at church, but also at work, in schools, in stores, in your vehicles, and at every public event—once again, a beautiful outworking of your deep commitment to worship and a reflection of God’s good plans at work in you.  God’s word encourages pervasive worship in all of life, saying:

 

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him…  Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.  (Colossians 3:17 & 23-24)

 

 

As a child, I knew that being a follower of Christ meant more than just going to church on Sundays because my parents talked about God at home during the week, too.  I knew that we lived a certain way because we were followers of Jesus.  I knew (quite well) that my parents disciplined me when I disobeyed because God instructs parents to do so.  Training me up to live a certain way was important, not just because they wanted me to behave, but because I belonged to God and my story was important to Him.

 

 

As a parent, I am always seeking how to do a better job demonstrating this reality for before my children: all of life is spiritual.  One of my most favorite quotes attests to this truth:

 

"There is no event so common-place but that God is present within it, always hiddenly, always leaving you room to recognize Him or not... because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace."
- Frederic Buechner

 

I want my children to know that every moment of life is a moment where God is present with them, and where they can choose to recognize that or not.  In every moment they can choose to either live according to the attributes of His kingdom, or they can choose to live for themselves.  There is no moment in life that doesn’t matter.  Each moment is a gift of grace from our Heavenly Father in which we can submit to His rule and demonstrate before both humanity and the spiritual realm that He is King and we stand with Him.

 

 

I suspect that one day we will realize how significant some of our “trivial” or “mundane” moments in life really were…  I pray and earnestly desire to learn how to slow myself down enough to acknowledge my Savior more regularly, and see His invitations toward love, patience, joy, generosity, kindness--His invitations to participate in the kingdom of heaven right now.