(This one’s a bit lengthy, but challenging. So grab a cup of tea and enjoy! I think God has a lot to say.)
After a long long travel day to Malaysia,
my team and I finally made it to our ministry location for the month.
We are working with a Pastor in his church and community and doing the following:
house visitations,
leading worship,
speaking in churches,
building and construction,
full days in prayer for the church here and the families,
teaching English and Math,
and playing with children.
….So, a little bit of everything I’ve done this year all in one month!
We arrived at a small upstairs apartment we’ll be living in at 7 in the morning.
Needless to say, we were exhausted. 9 months of travel has taken it’s toll.
We found our apartment to have AC, separate rooms, and real beds!
We felt so blessed to have such a refreshing, cool place to live during the last weeks of our 9 month summer. We girls loved organizing our things in our own space, and I couldn’t help but reminisce about my room at home. I’ve missed having my own space and a bed!
The next morning I drank a strong mug of coffee while reading my bible and journaling a little bit.
I was reading James 1:21-27 which among other wonderful things talks about the foolishness of looking in a mirror, not changing a thing, and walking away looking the same. I’m sure you’ve all heard many great examples of this verse in your lifetime, but it made me laugh especially hard this time.
See, when I arrived at our apartment I glimpsed myself in a mirror and was literally shocked for a split second. After a travel day it’s not unusual for me to look a little rough, but this was an exceptional view! Heh…just picture it.
When I looked again,
I took in the dark, heavy bags under my bloodshot eyes,
seeing zits in places I’ve never had them before.
I cringed at my frizzy, knotted split ends,
and somehow my skin was puffy, dried out and oily all at the same time.
Then there was the lingering taste of weird Asian chips and cookies I’d lived off the past few days.
I smelled like sweat and gross bus air freshener.
There was dirt on my arms and legs from sleeping in the gutter outside a gas station for a few hours.
(Our bus dropped us off about an hour off track.)
And the wonderful cigarette smells from the smoking men who awkwardly hovered around us sleeping.
The cuts from swimming too close to coral reef on my feet were infected and throbbing,
and fatigue was written all over my body from carrying my million pound pack all over Asia.
(Now mostly full of gifts for everyone back home. Get excited!!)
All that to say, looking into the mirror required D R A S T I C A C T I O N !!
Rest and real food were top priority followed by copious amounts of water and more sleep.
A long shower is next—hot, bucket or cold—it doesn’t matter!
By then it’s time for orientation, meetings, unpacking, and getting ready for ministry to start.
I love this busy lifestyle of travel, but have realized how important it is to keep myself healthy:
physically, mentally and spiritually.
If I got off the bus and looked in the mirror, ignored everything I saw and jumped into ministry, then I would be cheating the people I minister to, my team, and myself out of what God has for us.
Similarly, if I neglect time talking to God, reading His words, investing in community, not getting enough sleep, not eating right, and not practicing choosing joy, bad things happen.
I find myself worn out and start snapping at people, thinking negatively, judging others and having self-pity. It’s annoying.
I used to think words like self-control, discipline, prioritizing, and the whole: “your body is a temple of God” phrases sounded like too much work to me, but this year has taught me those things are gifts.
They are great things that help us get more out of life.
On the race we take time every night do something called “feedback”.
To put it bluntly, feedback is when your friends act as a mirror for your heart,
exposing unattractive areas you need to change.
It’s done out of love and the results can be great, but it’s usually easier to ignore the reflection you see from others and go about your life unchanged.
Just like James says in verse 25: “but if you keep looking steadily into God’s perfect law—the law that sets you free—and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, God will bless you for doing it.”
That sort of sounded like God operates on a merit system to me, but I think the point is that it’s our privilege to keep ourselves healthy so God can fully work in us and bless us.
Just like I wouldn’t jump into a ministry looking and feeling like I do fresh out of travel day,
I don’t want to keep on living life without changing who I am for the better. I’ve found that I now LOVE asking my team “okay, where can I grow?”…knowing their honest assessment brings life.
Yeah, sometimes we don’t feel like getting up and spending time with God,
sometimes it hurts hearing about areas of your life that are less than desirable,
and sometimes change seems impossible.
But sometimes, (to quote Nike) we just do it.
(After all…if you are a girl…isn’t getting ready, like, super fun? I know I love doing my hair and makeup.
I wanna start thinking that way about my life. Change is pretty and fun.) J
So ignore the past times you think you’ve failed, just choose to make the right choice now.
(Just because you had a bad hair day last week doesn’t mean you’re not going to brush it today, right?)
I’m not perfect at living like this, and you won’t be either. But let’s choose together.
After all, we shouldn’t be “discouraged by small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.” (Zechariah 4:10)
So don’t be afraid to look into the mirror and change some things.
____________________________________________________________________________________
So, I wanted to do something different for you.
This is important.
The other day, I prayed and asked God to tell me how He sees you.
Yes, you:
those who read my blogs and keep up with my adventure,
those who are stumbling across this page for the first time,
those who have donated financially to me,
those who leave me comments and emails that encourage and inspire,
those who love and pray for me and my team,
all of you. I asked God what He thought, and the answer was rather wonderful.
God reminded me how:
you gave your money to this thing you knew so little about at first. (“…what is the World Race anyways…?”)
But you believed the best.
You gave to a girl you may not have known who was. You didn’t know my past, my heart, or my motives. But you listened to God and gave. That’s faith.
You pray for things you can’t see happening, for millions to be saved. Yet personally, you see no results.
That’s selfless.
You keep up with blogs, photos and posts.
That’s dedication, and giving time out of your busy schedule.
Many of you tell others about this trip, follow me with your church, and are the reason I keep going.
As far as I’m concerned, you guys are trustworthy, faithful, giving, selfless, dedicated and adventurous people yourself…so start believing and living that version of your life.
Don’t let the bad days or bad choices get you down, don’t let the mirror’s reflection linger, just choose to see yourself how God sees you.
That’s it. Thank you for reading! I’ll be back so soon.
love,
rach
