Reason #312 for loving and hating the World Race at the same time: Learning about oneself and then having to be transparent with teammates!!
Last week, our team spent a day of rest in town doing errands. By the end of the day, I was tired, frustrated and feeling isolated from my team. I started to retrace the day and the week to determine where these feelings were coming from, as no one had said anything to me and nothing had happened in that moment to cause these responses.
As I looked back on the week, I realized that I had hugged orphans throughout the week and prayed with people in their homes, but I had not received affection from my teammates! The real shock from this realization was that I had to accept that one of my love languages is touch. I know it does not seem like a big deal, but I have spent a lot of my life either taking it for granted that I have been surrounded by people who I feel comfortable asking for hugs or I have spent time denying it as my love language because I don’t want to look clingy or needy. So, the best part of the whole self-realization process was then coming before my team and acknowledging my need for their hugs and physical touch…actually, that was the hardest part.
But, really that’s where the paradox of loving and hating the World Race comes in. I had to leave all that I’ve known to figure out more of who I am and in the process, become more of the work of art that God created me to be. It can be a painful process, but it’s worth it.
I leave you with a thought about Moses. He had to flee all he knew in Egypt. After a period of 40 years, God met with him in the desert and from that vision, Moses became an anointed leader of the Israelites. He stood in God’s vision and was given the mission of rescuing his people. Sometimes, to receive God’s greater vision and purpose, we will be called away to really hear from Him. Welcome to the World Race…
