Hey Guys, I’ve been doing some thinking and sometimes my mind can be a dangerous place, so I apologize in advance if some of what I have to say is offensive or uncomfortable. It is not my intention, but yet the Gospel itself is offensive and uncomfortable, so maybe it should be.
We all are sons and daughters of God. Redeemed and ransomed, empowered and equipped, anointed and appointed, loved and lavished in grace. We belong to the King of Kings, the one and only Supreme Being who knitted together the heavens and earth and made you and I and every living creature. We belong to him, who is strong and who is Love, and therefore we have no reason for fear.
But it’s time we started acting like it. It’s time we stopped sitting in our fear.
Because I know. I know there’s this fear of the Race ending, of going back home, and nothing’s really changed. We are still very much the same person that left a year ago. We slip back into the same habits, the same places we had hoped for freedom for. The person we envisioned ourselves being home when we came home is no where to be found.
We want to grow. Desperately. And we pray for growth when we see our shortcomings. We pray, God please help me love my team. God please help me to read the Bible more. God please help me be more vulnerable. God please help me be more patient. etc.
And it stops there. We get frustrated even further when we don’t see the results we want. After all, we prayed right? It must be one of the many external factors that are keeping me from growing. My team is just too difficult. This environment isn’t conducive to Bible-reading. How am I supposed to be patient in Africa time for Pete’s sake? It’s too damn difficult to not care what people think. I mean, I’m only human, aren’t I?
But growth is a choice. Because, after all, would we be growing at all if God just made it easy? Just instantly made me a more patient person? Instead of giving me opportunities to choose to be patient? Every time I make a choice to be the person I know God wants me to be, He rejoices. But the choice has to be made.
Sometimes the choices are small. Discipline is an ugly word that makes me think of nuns, so I prefer the word rhythms. It’s a nice word that give you a sense of consistency and forward motion. Small purposeful rhythms have shaped my entire Race. One for me is brushing my teeth. I stand straight up against a wall (I’m working on my posture) and I thank God for the blessings that I may have looked over as I review the day behind me or prepare for the one before me. It’s a little thing, but it’s a choice. A choice that grows me in gratitude.
And sometimes rhythms start with asking God. My questions usually start with ‘what does it look like.’ I think it helps me get specific answers. God, what does it look like for me love my team? What does it look like for me to take a step of boldness today? What’s a practical way that I can be vulnerable with my team? I want to be less selfish, so what does it look like for me to selflessly serve someone today?
I want every one of us to go home changed. I want everyone of us to become everything God created us to be. We can’t afford to compromise when it comes to growth. It’s a choice. We just have to be obedient enough, humble enough, brave enough to choose it.
