Ecclesiastes says there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
One of the most unexpected things I face on a daily basis on the Race is the time for goodbyes. Because of our nomad lifestyle, you would expect us to gradually shut down to relationships when we know we are going to be with a person for only a week or more. For some reason though, instead of giving me thicker skin to toughen to this constant uprooting, God has actually only softened my heart towards people. Milestones in a relationship, that back home would have taken months, now take a matter of days.
God is growing my capacity to love harder and to attach faster. I can live in a believer’s home for only a day and want to call her mama when she asks if I want more tea. My heart smiles when I think of the teenage girls I taught English to for about 6 hours total in one week. I tear up when thinking about 3 sweet, young sisters I got to know over the course of about 3 days. They have practically been raising themselves and their little brother since they were 14 because of parents working in Russia and I can’t get their faces out of my heart. All over the world, God is giving me parents, sisters and brothers in Christ. And, as much as it hurts to say goodbye, I’m still determining to press in. I don’t want to miss out on anything God has for me and others. Plus, I know that I don’t have to rely only on my capacity to love.
I’ll just ask Him to replace my heart with His.
