It goes without saying that coming home from the World Race is weird.
No matter what your experience was, what you’re going home to, or what plans you have: its weird.
Transition: the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another.
Change: Move from one to another.
The definitions of those words reveal the obvious. They define the experience we are living in right now, on this day, through this past week, and for who knows how much longer. It explains the feeling deep in our souls, the weight on our hearts.
What once was, won’t be anymore.
So now: actions happens.
..or, it doesn’t.
Active ownership happens. Discipline, boundaries, obedience. We build the details of a healthy life at home on the foundation we have laid through intimacy and growth with the Lord these past nine months.
Our character is becoming more and more solid as we make good choice after good choice.
As we reenter into life in the states, the people around us are being exposed to more of the Lord through the light we are privileged to carry. Seeds are being planted in the world around us as we carry the testimony of the Lord.
We are influencers. Changing the atmosphere wherever we go. Walking straight into dark places, bold and confident of our faithful Father.
We are on fire, our hearts set ablaze with passion for the Lord. Our entire beings yearn for him, knowing that we are completely malnourished without him.
We work hard with discipline and grit to sustain our foundation by pursuing greater intimacy with the Lord everyday. It’s the first thing we do, our first priority, and our first love.
With love saturating our hearts, we put on truth and invite the Holy Spirit into our day, begging for help as we know we cannot do this with our own strength, wisdom, or might. We cast out the enemy, continuously renew our minds, and go out in the world.
We don’t give isolation any power in our day. We refuse to acknowledge social media long enough to allow it to plant worldly thoughts, concerns, ideas, theology into our minds, impacting the way we think.
We seek transformation. We look to him for guidance. We ask him to help us love like him. We keep our hearts in check, not operating as easily offendable, instead choosing to be quick to love. We are eager to look more like him. We are mindful to pray continually.
We will take off pride again and again and desire to carry humility. We will cast out the spirit of entitlement, refusing to say “I deserve this” with our mouths, or with our hearts.
We study the word, because the Bible tells us to love God with all our mind, soul, and strength. So we use our mind, we learn more and more about the Bible, understanding that it is a pathway into knowing the Lord. We decide in our hearts that we won’t be lazy enough to not dive deep.
We interact with our families, our friends, and our cities as the salt and light of the earth. We seek community, inviting others into our lives. We become rooted in our towns, letting ourselves be known by the people around us.
We are friendly to people, encouraging the checkout lady, befriending the neighbors, and smiling at strangers. We are a light in the workplace, building relationships with all the co-workers, not just the “cool” ones.
We will be approachable, and respond to the settings around us, being present exactly where we are. We will view our mission field as wherever our feet are planted, and agree in our hearts with the truth that, ‘life is ministry and ministry is life’.
We serve our parents and our siblings, interacting with them with steadfast love, being confident in our growth. We resist temptation, knowing we don’t have to do something just because we want to in the moment. We don’t try to justify ourselves, but hold ourselves to standards. We are patient and persevering, not living by the motto of ‘instant gratification or bust’.
We make these choices because we know we can. We are capable. We are empowered. We are ready, willing, and eager. We refuse to fall into sin without a fight, and actively seek repentance when we do. We accept grace into our hearts, but never use it in vain.
We seek the Lord, his face, his grace, his goodness. We are thankful, truly thankful, accepting everything with gratitude.
I wrote this because I have been, more times than not, on the other side of this active, empowered flow of transition.
In preparation for going home, I defined apathetic, passive, and active in my journal, knowing that becoming apathetic is such a huge temptation for me. And apparently I know myself well, because apathy has proven to be my fatal flaw. I have stayed up and slept in late, spent time mindlessly scrolling, and have binge watched Netflix all more than I want to admit.
It has been a week since being back in my house for me, and I am willing to accept grace from the Lord over the bad decisions I have made. I will repent. I desire to make better decisions. I will take ownership, I will build character, integrity, and intimacy.
I will create disciplines, boundaries, goals, and dreams.
I wrote this as a big, long list of things I know I can do. Things I believe we all can do. Think of it as a brainstorming list of ideas, and a creed to hold myself to.
There’s a lot more to list, but here’s a good start.
