Have you ever had a moment where you just stopped and thought, “This is really my life right now”? I sometimes had that thought during college. I was taking a full load of classes, working 40ish hours a week, volunteering at my church twice a week, and occasionally even sleeping. On the rare occasion that I got a moment to breathe, and maybe even think, sometimes I just had to marvel. This is actually my life right now. Crazy how normal it felt.
I also had that thought after college. I had a brand new degree, but I was back to delivering pizzas. Not that there’s anything inherently wrong with delivering pizza, but it wasn’t exactly where I had pictured myself at that point in my life. It was all for a purpose, and I even knew what that purpose was. But I still couldn’t help but think, in a more negative sense, this is really my life right now. Weird how normal it felt.
I tend to have these moments pretty often since I’ve left home, though perhaps less often recently. They come especially whenever I make it to a new country. I had a big one of those moments the other day.
I was in a little village on a mountainside here in Nepal. I found myself teaching a cute little hand pattern game I learned in El Salvador, (which features the Spanish language) to Nepali children. An American teaching a Salvadorian game to Nepali children. Three cultures, blended just like that.
This is really my life right now.
Strange how normal it feels.
Burnout is a real danger. 11 countries, 11 months, it all sounds really thrilling and adventurous. And don’t misunderstand, it is. But God designed us to adapt, and to be honest, things started feeling pretty normal as early as Month 2. For certain, the sense of newness that was so strong at the beginning wore off by Month 3.
After awhile it all starts to feel the same. Preaching is preaching, and teaching is teaching, no matter where you are. After awhile, those “wow” moments don’t just appear very often. I have to look for them now.
Just like any other situation in life, what started as unusual has become entirely normal. And just like at home, in order to recognize God working, I have to actually look for it.
So here’s what I’m really trying to say: Practically speaking, life on the mission field might look different than life at home. But once you dig beneath the surface, it’s really mostly the same. You don’t automatically become more spiritual, you don’t automatically read your Bible or pray daily, you don’t get a free faith boost simply by showing up. The responsibility for those things more than ever lies with me.
So. We circle back around.
This is my life right now. This is my life for the next four months. How I use it is up to me. I could coast by and do no more good than if I was at home. But I’m continuing to “choose in,” to dive deeper into faith, to live missionally wherever God takes me.
And I’m going to be so bold as to challenge you as well. You may or may not be ministering in a foreign country right now. Regardless, you’re still in the mission field. At the core it’s all the same. For one reason or another, God has placed you where you are.
So. This is your life right now. What are you going to do with it?
“Choose this day whom you will serve . . . But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” – Joshua 24:15
