Before I left America, I heard a phrase I silently doubted would come true. “The World Race will become normal if you let it. If you’re not intentional, you can come home in nine months and be the exact same.”
As if. That’s not possible.
lol, was I wrong. I’ve discovered over the last month and a half that it is entirely possible for this life I’m living to become mundane and routine, much like the same can happen back home. In a sense, this life has become normal. I bike everywhere on streets with very few traffic laws and never have air conditioning and cringe spending more than $4 on food. I also go to markets and watch live eels slither out of a cardboard box onto the pavement (true story). I see very not “normal” things compared to life in the US of A and never bat an eye. Things such as these have just become my way of life.
In America, I would scroll through my phone before getting out of my actual bed in the mornings and eat Chick-fil-a at least once a week. Such was my way of life two months ago and a luxury now.
Deeper though than what I eat, where I sleep, and how I get around, it’s incredibly easy whether in the states or southeast Asia to become lax and casual in how I live each day.
However Jesus has not only captured my heart, but given me His heart. And Jesus had a heart of intentionality, bold faith in the Father, and love for all people. In living with His heart, the “normal” is rich with purpose. When we invite the Holy Spirit into our walk, it changes from routine to bursting with life and transformed hearts.
The world of Calhoun, Georgia, USA is a world of luxurious distractions. Constant phone service, the ability to be alone yet also the chance to connect the moment we actually feel alone, every restaurant and type of food imaginable. Comfortable routines. Casual encounters.
The world in Battambang, Cambodia is vastly different. It is void of many distractions present in the US. It’s not possible to busy ourselves with our phones when we feel “bored” or shoot a text to a friend to avoid the feeling of being alone that has become taboo in American culture. Here, we have had to learn how to be alone, because without it we quickly burn out. Without familiarity and comfort coming from every angle, what becomes routine is ministry.
When living a life of abandonment and mission is no longer an option, I get to choose how I wake up in the morning. Will today be a day of going through the motions until that afternoon nap and dinner? Or will I choose to see the opportunity this day presents through the Holy Spirit?
Intentionality. Bold faith. The heart of Jesus. This is Kingdom living. I’ve seen it. I have witnessed and been apart of it. Our purpose is so much greater than the easy, comfortable routines we slip into during our days.
I’ve had routine days here. Days of counting down hours in a classroom and wandering around town until stumbling upon a child to play with.
But I’ve had more days during which I’ve discovered what it means to be fully alive. To feel literal Kingdom power coursing through my veins and His heart for people beating in my chest. Every moment is an opportunity.
My team has followed His prompting down a road and discovered a muddy street full of children hungry for love and full of joy. I got to teach those children “Jesus loves me” and as I taught them, I proclaimed it over them. Darkness flees when His name is spoken.
We spent a morning praying over KTV bars, which are hubs for prostitution in this city and felt our skin and bones trembling as we laid our hands on the walls. As we prayed, the trembling ceased.
I end an afternoon of teaching English with a face that hurts from smiling so much and that, my friends, is only through the joy of the Lord in me. He’s given us a heart for the kiddos in our classes and every day with them is a joy.
The World Race becomes normal when we “turn off” ministry time. Lives become complacent when we do the same. But when we invite Jesus to give us His heart, He delights to give and give and keep on giving. He gives His sweet presence and a rich, abundant life. Not for our own selves, but for His renown. To God be the glory.
