We came into Macedonia to build relationships. And while I love friendships and talking with people and going deep, it doesn’t happen very quickly for me. Some great friendships I have have taken months or even years. I didn’t have that kind of time in Macedonia.
Alright, I’m not good at this. But fortunately, my teammate Brook is. She can start conversations with the best of them, and continue to carry them on. I sit there and wonder what in the world to talk about.
So I let her talk. I let her meet our friends at the coffee shop. I let her talk while I sat and listened. I can be her support as we play darts and pool. All the while, I sit there thinking that I’m not very good at this initial building relationships thing. What can I offer this month? Is there something more than simple presence that I can give?
The answer came later in the month. As we prepared to leave, we wanted to give some of our newfound friends a small gift for them and their families. This is where I stepped in. Hello homemade chocolate chip cookies. Perfect.
I felt like I played my part. It’s okay to not be good at everything. That’s one reason why we have each other. Brook starts the conversations, I support and I can make something for them as we leave. I did leave a part of me there in Macedonia, in those cookies.
A part of me always wanted to be completely independent. In a sense, I wanted to be good at everything. But in realizing that I can’t be good at everything, I have freedom to be really good at what God has gifted me in.
Archbishop Romero once said that we can’t do everything. And with that knowledge comes a sense of liberation. This enables us to do something and do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.
I can make cookies and let his grace enter and do the rest.
