This morning, my mom and I took off for an estate sale. It really has been a fun time spending time with the family and also meeting people along the way. One thought that caught my mind today was the sadness behind an estate sale. More than likely the owner of the house, or at least the tenant, has either passed away or been placed in a nursing home by their family. I’ve been to estate sales before, but this thought never really hit me. I would usually just show up and see if any deal struck my fancy, and if not, I would leave. When this thought crossed my mind, it hit me that the people running the sale would be great people to talk with.
Before I knew it, my mom was already one step ahead of me and chatting with Margaret, who had just put her mother in a nursing home. I don’t really know what all thoughts go into a decision like this, but I know it has to be such a difficult choice. In light of all the sadness around the situation, it was nice to just get Margaret talking about her past and it was really a joy to hear her story. Over the past several years, she has been leading mission trips to teach VBS to city street kids in Guatemala City. Her church has been a huge support in setting up a team to surround her and also helping provide the way. It’s always nice to speak to someone that has poured their heart out outside of the US and it was a blessing to just hear her story.
It turns out that she has been leading the team for several years and while she feels the passion and joy to keep leading, she sees the point in being prepared to pass off the torch. This past spring, the day before a trip to Haiti, she was in a serious car accident that required major surgery and left her in a pretty rough situation. She wasn’t able to continue with her trip to Haiti for obvious reasons, but she has done a ton to prepare for the trip to Guatemala this summer. Unfortunately, she feels like it’s time for her to pass the torch and allow someone else to lead. However, when the thought crossed her mind, she also said she would have her bag packed if God opened the door for her and gave her the “OK”. It was pretty fun to hear that thought.
As the conversation went on, it was obvious that she was living for a world that was bigger than herself, and as shocking as it may sound, bigger than the US. One of the most heartbreaking things is when I talk with people about my experiences and all they can say is, “Wow, that sounds awesome, God bless you. It’s a blessing to have people like you that will go.” Now, I hear the compliment and I’m thankful for it, but I also hear the resignation in the voice to never go. I know out of the country missions isn’t for everyone, but I also know God calls us all to “go”, and we all need to realize how big this world truly is. It’s invigorating to talk with people like Margaret that have gone and been so changed.
The last thing that I want from this blog is for people to hear me say that you need to go overseas to be changed. That’s not totally true, but there is so much that happens when you don’t just hear about the pain of the world, but you see it. I just want everyone to widen their context and see what God can do. Sometimes we just need to go.
