In the recent weeks, as the Race has become more of a reality, I have had some unexpected doubts and sobering thoughts.
For the past three years, I have been working in an industry that runs on seeing jobs completed from beginning to end. Working in such an field has programmed me to measure success in amounts of production and completion of work. The difficulty I foresee is that on the mission field, you seldom have the chance to see the entire process from start to finish and only occasionally the final result. I began to worry that in not being able to see the process, as I have grown accustomed, I may become frustrated and discouraged.
The work that I will be doing in the mission field will be measured but it won’t be measured in any monthly, quarterly, or yearly report, only in due time.
I was recently reminded of the “father of the modern missions,” William Carey, and his extreme struggles on the mission field. He worked with the people of India for SEVEN years before he saw his first convert to Christianity and in the process, he lost his wife and children. Talk about frustrating. However, the impact of Carey's time in India is still seen today and as a result of the work of the Lord during his pioneer journey, many have come to Christ because of the seed that he planted. I think of the following verse in response to my concerns and my prayer is that we will not grow weary.
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
-Galatians 6:9
I realize that the work that is done on the race is not done for my glory, so why would I think that it should be done in my timeframe?
So as I go with renewed perspective, I pray that I will be blessed with endurance and fulfillment knowing that the Lord has been at work long before I arrived and will continue working long after I am gone. And confident that one day, we will see the fruits of our labor.
On a side note, my younger brother graduated from college this past Friday. He's not even moving back in with my parents! We couldn’t be prouder of him and his accomplishments.
