On Monday we started ministry with ATL (ask the lord) because the classes we normally teach were cancelled for a holiday. One of my teammates felt led to ask if we could help with construction at the school in Chirijuyu. Soon after we found ourselves immersed in a manual labor project, obviously out of place with our Birkenstock’s on but still ready to help. I learned a lot from our two days of chiseling away at concrete and refilling holes, as silly as it may sound.
The kingdom of God looks a lot like manual labor sometimes. Sometimes it feels like we are in way over our heads, like taking sledgehammers to concrete with Birkenstock’s on, we often feel unequipped and like we don’t “look the part”. We feel like because we’ve messed up so many times, don’t know the Bible well enough, or haven’t prayed enough, that we can’t be used by our Heavenly Father. So often it feels like our labor is in vain and we don’t see the fruit of our efforts as we chiseled away at concrete for hours but still weren’t finished by the end of the day. Sometimes we have to take steps backward to move forward, digging holes just to refill them. The kingdom of God is diverse and alive as people from many different backgrounds, cultures, and languages gathered together to finish a project, just like we gather to lift praise to our Lord.
Living for the kingdom isn’t always easy, and it’s hard not to get caught up in our agendas and future plans, but every time I remember that my identity is secured as a child of God and I don’t have to do anything to earn his love, the burden of the labor is lifted because it’s not mine to carry. It’s not on me to save Guatemala or even to finish the construction project, and when I make things about me I get so caught up in the labor itself rather than the one I’m laboring for. We are called to pick up our cross daily to follow Jesus, but his yoke is easy and his burden is light, and when we fix our eyes on him alone, the weight of our burdens are lifted because we don’t have to do anything for him to love us. We obey him BECAUSE of his love, not FOR his love.
Suddenly my sore arms are worth it, the mud in my hair makes me laugh, lesson planning is a time of rest and joy with my teammates, and soccer ministry is just me hanging with Abba in the open fields and loving his children alongside him. I’m learning so much about what it looks like to rest in my Heavenly Father, that I don’t have to prove myself to him or to anyone. He’s teaching me that whether I spend the day chiseling away at concrete, teaching, running with his children, or exploring the city of Antigua with my squad, he’s present in all things and that everything I do should be rooted in love from the spirit, otherwise it’s all in vain.
He’s teaching me that ministry is everywhere.
We spent a day praying and loving on people in a grocery store in chimaltenango, something I never would have thought to do in Texas, but that’s what living missionally is. It can take place anywhere anytime because people everywhere need Jesus. I wonder how many times I’ve walked through target or Walmart, completely oblivious to the people around me that were desperate for healing and a relationship with Jesus. I wonder how many times I’ve walked right pass them, caught up in my own agenda when all they needed was to be reminded that they are loved. That’s the kingdom. That’s living missionally. It’s seeking first the kingdom and then seeing where it takes you, who it takes you to, because Abba longs to partner with us to bring freedom and love to his people. The kingdom is being built daily, new laborers are added daily to bring abundance to the harvest. When I make things more about Jesus and less about me, the burden is lifted and I can just enjoy each day with my father seeing where he takes me, even if it’s filling ditches and chiseling away at concrete. His love never changes, all he wants is our hearts, even in our brokenness and our messiness, muddy hair and all.
Thanks for reading this today, if you have any questions about my ministry feel free to reach out! My email is [email protected] ! I’d love to hear from you. I’m still about $3,000 away from being fully funded so if you feel led to donate I would love to partner with you in my ministry. You are fully known and fully loved, believe it!
Til next time,
Mallory sailer
