When I began the World Race in August, I expected to be
homesick, missing Chicago and the comforts of the typical American
lifestyle. I expected to miss my bed, my
favorite TV shows, my favorite coffee shop, good Asian food from Chinatown, my
car, my family and friends, and of course, my freedom. I even expected to have what Brittany calls
“homes-sickness” from investing in incredible relationships and saying goodbye
to new friends each month. I expected to
hate transitions and want the consistency of one familiar place. I expected to experience the homesickness
that Jesus felt while He was on earth and away from his home in heaven. “Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and birds
of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.'”
Matthew 8:20 The old hymn says, “This
world is not my home. I’m just passing
through.” I expected to want to be
delivered from the cruelty and brokenness of the world.
What I didn’t expect was to wish I could revert to being a
child, when life was simpler without responsibilities and complete innocence
about what the world is really like. I
found myself daydreaming the other day about being back in my bedroom in
Minnesota leaning against my bed peaking out my picture window wondering what
my future would hold with my biggest worry being my history test on
Friday. I miss the time when my work was
reading for pleasuring and playing. I
miss the time when I was trying to understand how things worked rather than trying
to fix what doesn’t work. I miss the
time when my biggest worry was making friends rather than fighting not to lose
them to hopelessness or recklessness.
When did I lose my innocence and become burdened by the brokenness of
this world? And how do I recapture the
childlike curiosity and faith in human goodness?
When I was in Kenya, God gave me a message that spoke to my
heart about being a little child in my heavenly Daddy’s lap. Mark
10: 13-16 “People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch
them, but the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this, he was indignant.
He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder
them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive
the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ And he took the children in his arms, put his
hands on them and blessed them.” Jesus
calls us to have faith like a child. It
may seem a little too idealistic to have a childlike faith and the realities of
being hurt by childlike vulnerability are too high a risk. But God promises,
“The Lord protects the simplehearted” Psalm 116:6. Childlike faith is not ignorance, but hope in
the midst of realities. Jesus didn’t
ignore the realities of the brokenness of this world; he actually spoke about
it a lot, “I came to seek and save the lost” Luke 19:10. He desires healing and wholeness for us. He came to bring hope to a hopeless people
and shed light to dark places.
Childlike faith is not worrying about tomorrow or the
future, but instead trusting God has incredible plans for my future and will
reveal them to me as He increases my trust in Him (Matthew 6:25-34, Jeremiah
29:11). While many fellow World Racers
are already starting to contemplate what life in the States after we return in
four months will be like, I am learning to trust in the direction and guidance
God has given me until He moves me on from here. Childlike faith is believing in the
possibilities rather than seeing the barriers and diversions (Matthew
19:26). With the direction and vision
God has given me, I am learning to believe that He will work out the details
that don’t make sense to my finite, human mind.
Childlike faith is being strengthened in joy even when things seem
desperate and depressing (Nehemiah 8:10).
I am continually praying for the joy of the Lord to strengthen me even
when I feel completely helpless and distressed.
Childlike faith is living forgiven, redeemed, and free (Galatians 5:1). I am learning not to dwell on my past and
beat myself up over hurt, but to pray for God’s mercies every morning. Childlike faith is constantly discovering new
things about myself and about God as our relationship grows more intimate (Hebrews
6:1). This race is just a chapter in a
longer journey but through it I am coming to understand myself, my
relationships, and God more intimately in community. Imagine how different this world would look
if we all lived out this childlike faith.
