So I am standing in the bathroom, hunched over, hand washing my clothes in the shower and I am thinking… Wow, I could really do this. I can be a missionary.
I mean yes IT IS HARD. Beyond hard even, because you are dealing with physical challenges like food that doesn’t sit well in your stomach because your body isn’t used to it, extreme fatigue due to frequent travel and very little alone time, and a huge change from whatever routine you were used to. You also deal with spiritual challenges like how to show people Jesus when you are struggling to be like Him, or what does the Lord want you to say or do or share, or balancing intimacy with God and giving yourself to others. There are mental challenges like why am I here?, Am I even making an impact?, or how can I create deep relationships in only one month?
These challenges, I’ve learned don’t really go away, yes they evolve a bit into this or that, but without the challenges it wouldn’t be quite the same. It wouldn’t be a missionary life.
So, I carry my clothes out to the line and I am feeling this swell in my heart that is growing and growing. It’s a familiar swell… the same swell I’d gotten when I realized that I knew I would have to go on the World Race. That undeniable feeling that the more you try to shake off it only gets stronger.
Now, truly, I am not surprised by this call from the Lord, per say. I have always known I’d live some version of a missionary life. The awesome thing is that It came with such a peace for the craziness; such tranquility in reference to the chaos that I’ve called my life for the past 4 months on the World Race. So not only did I feel like the Lord was introducing a more confirmed life as a missionary but it came with peace and comfort. Peace and comfort would definitely not have been the words I would have used to describe this lifestyle. But somehow that swell in my heart felt like it came with a sort of now and then promise: Like my Father was saying “ Alyssha either way, whether it’s here on the World Race, at home, or on future missions, I will always be here in the craziness and you can always find peace in me”
So, when the Lord calls you toward something in this life, if you feel that swelling in your heart or whisper in your thoughts it’s easy to just let the phone keep ringing, easy to drown it out until it becomes background noise. But I want to challenge you to answer. Yes, it may be uncomfortable. Yes, it may be crazy. Yes, it may be chaotic. But in the mist of all of that our sweet Father offers us Peace in Him. In fact, I am going to go out on a limb and say Jesus wants to offer us Peace in the crazy so much that we can pretty much expect Him to call us to something crazy. I’m convinced of this. I am also convinced that at any given point of our lives the Lord is calling us to SOMETHING. Yes, always, and it may very well seem crazy. Don’t forget though, the peace we will gain and the growth we’ll have in our relationships with the Father. So my love, listen… yea, you feel that? Jesus is calling you. Pick up the phone and find out what He’s got cooking up for your life.
Peace. Courage. Adventure.
Alyssha
