First Off, let me introduce my new team! At the end of month four they changed up all of our teams. So I am no longer with Team FireStarters, but I am now apart of
Team Abundant ‘AJ’ Joy!
Month five has rolled around and the life of pulling up my roots every month after investing so much of myself in that place is beginning to take a toll. I have been tired this month more so than the past months. Not only the physical strain on not having my usual comforts, but the emotional toll of always being expected to respond like the picture perfect missionary.
Even if you served for eight straight hours, if your host asks you to come speak at a bible study that night you need to smile, breathe in a prayer and go. You need to greet every single person you pass on the street with ‘Buenos Dias’ (Good Day) to represent your host and your reputation as the guest missionary well. The answer is always ‘of course’ and the attitude is always cheerful.
These things are not too difficult to do and honestly they are a pleasure for me to do because I know I am representing my Perfect Savior whom I owe my life and this adventure to. However, it is just tiring at times. Being a 24/7 poster ‘Travel Missionary’ isn’t an easy, restful job. You always need to be on and when you think it’s finally time for some R&R, think again.
Reflecting on this reason for why I have been in the blogging blahs I kept hearing ‘Somos Ninos’ (We Are Children) playing in my head. This is a song that we sing with our kids at our Vacation Bible Schools. This song is about the story of when the children came to see Jesus and His disciples began turning the kids away. In the song it translates to
‘Go away little ones the teacher is tired, you want to play, but He has already done a lot of work today’.
If you leave it at this I can relate to the feeling. I’m sure Jesus was tired from traveling all over, loving on people, doing whatever was asked of Him. Not only were all eyes on Jesus just waiting for Him to mess up, but he went through that His whole life and didn’t mess up once. Talk about emotionally tired.
He probably just wanted a break, a warm meal and an actual bed to sleep on. No one would have blamed Him if he took a rain check on playing with the little kids that evening. But the passage continues with Jesus literally scolding His disciples and telling them to never turn the children away because their innocent acceptance of faith is the most perfect earthly example for us hard headed adults.
He didn’t see the kids as a black hole for energy, or as walking booger makers, or messy little headaches, or as three more hours of play time between Him and bedtime. He uses them to create an important lesson for us.
“These children are the kingdoms pride and joy. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in”. (Luke 18: 16-17 The Message)
Despite His exhaustion, He chose loving us and loving the children more than His pillow.
The example of Christ here is a loud example for me. Yes, you need rest and He provides that for those who need it. But when I was tired and justifying my reasons for being so. I am humbled by His example of love, endurance, and compassion despite His weariness.
The kids need me to love them through the long days.
They deserve excitement and jumping during the songs even when it’s the umpteenth time I’ve done it.
They teens I’m speaking to about what God is like in my life shouldn’t get anything less than a heartfelt, honest, lesson even if I only had an hours’ notice to write it.
God will give me rest when I can’t push any farther, but I shouldn’t stop until I reach that point. We cannot declare with our own authority when we have reached our breaking point, because if we stop at our justified earthly standards, we will never experience the divine breakthrough of true dependence on Christ and the power that He possesses for such a time as that. Don’t sell your endurance short and check out before the magic really starts happening. You’ll miss out on the beautiful finale of that moment in your life, when your Heavenly Father makes your jaw drop by giving you endurance you never thought you’d have.
**Stay tuned for an all picture blog soon!**
