Growth.
The World Race places a huge emphasis on this word. It was one of the words I used myself to describe why I came on this journey. There is no doubt that leaving behind all of the comforts of family, home and independence to serve in a community atmosphere that changes countries and ministries every month will grow you in ways that are not possible when you stay only in the familiar.
But what about if you don’t grow?
What if you feel everyone growing around you, coming to the end of ministry months with amazing testimonies and having experienced personal revelations, and you just kind of, well stay the same?
What if all God has had for me on this journey so far is just to be a part of other people’s growth? What if this whole year that is the only role He has for me?
Can I be content in that? Will it have been a year wasted?
Will it be enough?
One of the main goals I have for myself this year is growth.
To grow in daily dependence on Christ. To grow boldness in prayer.
To grow in daily choosing joy. To grow in pure love.
Selfless love, loving when it is not comfortable or convenient. Loving when it is not recognized or received. Loving people the way God loves us all. This kind of love takes a lifetime, but the World Race does offer a perfect atmosphere to refine it.
This kind of love does not compare.
Comparison. The breeding ground for despair. My whole adult life so far has been a battle with not comparing myself to others, should I be surprised that this struggle would follow me even here? To fight to reach a place where you are content with the uniqueness of your own story, indeed that you rejoice in that uniqueness, it should of course follow that you rejoice in the uniqueness of other people’s stories as well.
If I can grow in one thing only this year, let it be genuinely celebrating the growth in others even, and especially if I do not see any change in myself.
If I can grow in this, I will be one step further along that selfless love journey.
~ Jessie
Beijing Cherry blossoms
