Do you know what your values are?
During my time in CGA I learned about our 5 core values. Everyone has them. These values reflect our decision making, the people we choose to fill our space, the way we grew up, and how we cultivate our lifestyle.
In CGA I was handed a stack of index cards with a different value on each one. These included Trust, Family, Accuracy, Humor, Respect, Service, etc. Through the process of elimination I was asked to narrow my values down to a core 5. These are what I concluded with:
Freedom
Family
Growth
Connection
Fun
I want to be completely honest with everyone reading this. Life on the mission field is not all rainbows and roses. Yes, we get to experience and see many new and different cultures and adventures. Yes, we have deep, intimate community with each other as teammates. Yes, we are doing such incredible work for the Lord. But this lifestyle is by no means easy.
I’ve dropped everything for three months and moved to the other side of world. I deeply miss my love, my family, and my home. I sleep on the ground inches from my teammates who sleep on either side of me. We have no air-conditioning, but only rotating fans (my hair has yet to be completely dry because HOLY HUMIDITY). My diet consists of many carbs, small portions of vegetables or fruits, and at one meal a day there will be a few pieces of meat.
I don’t say this to complain, but only to explain that life on the field is NOT as glorious as Instagram pictures portray it to be.
One of my journal entries a few days ago was, “Abba, this is hard! I need your perspective. Show me what you’re doing. Reveal to me why you brought me here.”
Then I saw this vision of a table with 5 lit candlesticks. As I studied the candles a big gust of wind blew through. Surprisingly though, the fire did not go out, but burned brighter.
The Lord reminded me of my 5 core values and how through the shifting and turmoil of being back on the field, He was still fulfilling my values. Then He revealed to me exactly how He was doing so.
Freedom – Truth brings freedom. During my time on the field I am teaching my teams how to speak truth over each other. We have a night every week where we all sit in a circle speaking over each individual person the truth of who they are and who Abba created them to be.
Family – I am surrounded by 53 family members. We all go out to ministry and every evening come home to the same place. We have all our meals at a long tables together. We worship together, have devotions together, play, sing, dance, cook, clean, sleep…EVERYTHING we do together as a family.
Growth – Being a team leader has put me in a position with so much room to growth. I am leading team times each night, cultivating good communication, teaching how to do devotions, and more. With this much accountability, there is no choice but to grow.
Connection – Being on the field has been such an opportunity to have deep, intentional conversations with people. We have been removed from television, social media, and busy schedules that so easily block connection. This has opened the doors to truly see and try to understand one another.
FUN – Boy, have I had fun here. We’ve played in the rain, had a face-mask night, movie nights, played cards, jumped around on suspension bridges, we rode bamboo trains through rice fields, had dance parties, and SO much more. I haven’t laughed as hard as I have in the past 2 weeks in a while.
All this to say, The Lord is Faithful!
He doesn’t lead me where He won’t go and He takes care of me along the way.
Although my life is looking a lot different in these three months, my Abba knows me and is still meeting my values. He’s good and I am so thankful.
Have you ever thought about your core values?
How is the Lord meeting them in your life?
