This year will be, and in some ways already is, incredibly challenging. Part of the challenge will be releasing my expectations.
While we cannot know what will happen in our lives, we all have some idea of our future planned out in our head. Some of us have a clear picture of how we want the next year to go, others’ plans are a little more foggy. I tend to be on the foggy side of things. I do not know what the upcoming year holds, but I do have a lot of expectations about some aspects of the journey.
I expect to eat a lot of rice and beans. I expect transportation to be difficult and crowded. I expect to bond with my teammates, but also experience times of conflict. I expect to be sharpened and to sharpen my teammates. I expect to lose a little weight. I expect to get sick, and to get well! I expect people at home to be supportive and to keep up with me. I expect communication with folks in the U.S. to be difficult at times, and hard to find time for. I expect ministry to be challenging yet rewarding. I expect it to be humbling, and prayer filled. I expect God to reveal so much more of himself to me. I expect to see people miraculously healed by God’s love and power. I expect Him to use me in ways I never thought of, and ways that I might even think ineffective at the time. I expect to be challenged by what I see and the people I will meet. I expect to laugh, and to cry. I expect to be freed from some things, and have my eyes opened to other things.
Our expectations for this trip will probably be shattered once we are in the field. We may even have expectations that are close to what will happen, but just thinking about what will happen and writing it down cannot and will not compare to actually experiencing it. So, some of the expectations we may have, like, “I expect to have a warm shower at least twice a week,” will be wrong. Others, like, “I expect God to work in big ways,” may be right, but our idea of that may be far from God’s idea. While I may be uncomfortable at times, and things may get hard, I know my team and I will have to put our trust in the Lord.
I’m excited to be leaving, and part of my wants it to be departure time right now! Nevertheless, I don’t quite have all my ducks in a row yet. I still have money to raise, gear to buy, and travel to take care of. If you can, I need prayer that I will have the energy and good time management to work on these things. Thanks to everyone for your encouragement and good words!
“Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
