In case any of you readers can’t tell, those of us scheduled
to leave for WR December 31st are a little restless.
Whether stressed, complacent, impatient or
just excited, we are ready to go!
The
hours we’ve put into asking for financial support, the endless trips and
purchases off those last few necessities, the blogging, conference calls and
paperwork are all leading up to the beginning of the coolest (albeit most
challenging) experience we will potentially ever experience.
33 days from now our patience will pay off –
and we can’t wait.
It’s been interesting to introspect on these emotions and to
observe other WR’ers engage in the same internal dialogues.
I get caught between two parallels.
First, this experience promises to be life
changing for us all.
I mean, let’s face
it, there is no alternative, no substitute, no other offering that remotely
compares to what we’re going to experience.
It promises to be one of the most character building and
transformational trips of our lives.
Secondly, if and when I am able, I take a look around me at
my peers, family members, church acquaintances and coworkers and I see people
trying to make a difference in their own worlds.
People working day in and day out to live
their lives, some happy, some not.
And
in the face of both of these actualities, I wonder.
I’ve always believed that life is what you make of it.
“Significance” is in the eyes of the
beholder, so to speak, and “making a difference” or “impacting your world” can
have an infinite amount of applications.
Yet, my teammates and I are struggling with contentedness in the routine
of everyday, American, rat-race (corporate or ministerial) life.
Part of me wants to believe that traveling
around the world in a tent and backpack serving the nations of the world,
living in total self-sacrifice and depriving myself of luxuries and comforts is
somehow more “significant” than that job I’ve been doing behind a computer for the
last several years.
I mean, it’s making
a bigger difference right?
Yet, the other half of me knows beyond a shadow of a doubt
that the part I’ve played the last couple years has been “significant.”
I recently worked with a team to host a
poverty education weekend retreat for high school students.
It was awesome and many kids were impacted by
what they saw and did.
I mean, that’s “significant”
right?
As I struggle with these extremes, I’m reminded of two
facts: I’m about to travel around the world.
My opinions on these matters are clearly clouded and my judgment of
others really should be checked.
Secondly, whose fault is it if I don’t find my life “significant”
enough?
Individually, we are all
responsible for our own adherence to the journey God has laid before us.
What gives me joy and helps me realize my
passion is totally different than what it might be for others.
Thank God there are people who find joy
ministering behind a computer because that is what makes us the Body of Christ.
I do not really know what principle I’m attempting to
articulate, it’s an observation I hope to process further.
