The bus ride is silent apart from the creaking of brakes and the hum of the engine. Chatter is the exception, not the norm. It’s the main way that we stand out: loud and talkative and expressive. Our smiles are lavished abundantly on friends and strangers alike in a place where smiles tend to be reserved for intimate connections: warmth and familiarity in a place of cold and individualized. Hospitality feels rare. Yet, when I pause to think, it’s given often but not with the intention of just effecting feelings. It’s showered out in a manner that is both genuine and authentic.
It’s hot tea and sweaters from Ruth in the drafty hall entrance to the Good News Center on a day that feels a lot like giving up. Warm cabbage soup and pastries and caraway seed juice purchased without a second thought by Zelnonas and Ad after our tour of the castle. Homemade crepes and jam preserved from the garden during our stint in the basement with Roma. Maria, who cleaned my breakfast dishes and told me about her life as we shared a quiet morning at Fortuna Hostel. It’s a warm embrace and friendly greeting at a church called “Grace” from Kornelja. It’s girls who celebrated the Lithuanian version of Mardi Gras and invited us to join with food and conversation. Countless moments during days of life with Almontas: movies, meals, car rides and lodging provision. Freshly grilled hamburgers and tables shifted without hesitation to accommodate the 21 people gathered in Steve and Mary’s home celebrating new relationships and Lithuanian Independence.
Authentic love; true gifts of grace; something not to overlook in times of tension and discomfort. Moments to embrace when all of life feels stretched and prickly: like a rubber band stretched to capacity or sand spurs clinging to cotton socks.
Vilnius, Lithuania is where I’ll call home for the majority of this month. My team arrived here with no ministry contact or place to call home. Our task is to search for Unsung Heroes: people who are working to further the Kingdom of God. The purpose is two-fold, really. First, to find these people who may not be receiving a lot of acknowledgment or assistance but are still faithfully serving in the way they feel that God has called and equipped them. Second, to seek out ministries and people who may be able to host future World Race teams. In other words, this month is very stretching to my personality. I like to have a plan. I enjoy clear expectations. It makes me uncomfortable to lack these things. Yet, here I sit, approximately a week into our time in Lithuania knowing that even without a plan or expectation, God has been faithful to provide.
That’s grace.
This month has been challenging so far for our team. Last Monday, Civanna was admitted to the hospital with Malaria and had to stay for a week. (You can read more of her story here). As a result, Derek spent the week commuting back and forth each morning to spend time with Civanna and help work out logistical things between the doctors and insurance. So, we lived the first week in Vilnius as fragmented team. The honeymoon is over for our team and real growth has begun. We’re starting to learn how to deal with frustrations and communicate well and love each other sacrificially. It’s really good yet not at all fun in the midst.
Yet, that’s grace too.
In 2nd Corinthians, Paul says that God’s grace is all that we need and His power works best in our weakness. I’m really thinking that Paul wasn’t just whistling Dixie on that one. Grace is unmerited favor. A blessing poured out on us that we neither earned nor deserved yet was given any way. As this month began, I journaled this: Grace has been extended to me. The question is not “Do I extend grace or not?” the question is “Am I going to extend levels of grace that surpass my human capability and allow the Lord to step in?”
This is hard. It means biting your tongue when you know the words that are about to seep out are hateful and full of ruin. It means shutting down the part of your brain that wants to keep score and make sure that all the acts of service even out. Sometimes it sounds like hard truths and feels like fighting tooth and nail for joy. It’s “fighting the good fight for the true faith” that Paul references in his letter to Timothy. Forgiving one another because we were first forgiven in Christ.
In a chapter on unity in Ephesians, Paul ends by saying “be kind to each other, tender hearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” The evidence of God’s grace and forgiveness abounds. My response? To lean into discomfort and pray prayers that are dependent on God’s provision particularly in matters of grace.
