It's no secret that I love to travel. Some of my favorite travel memories are short-term mission trips - five doing VBS/house building-painting in Mexico and three summer trips teaching English in Hungary. Life is so simple on mission trips - every moment of every day is for the glory of God. 
The funds have been raised in advance - there are no bills to pay, no worries about the day-to-day necessities of life. The plans have been made months before the trip- the work is ready to be done. You're joined with a team of friends, also passionate for sharing the love of Christ. Even the troublesome moments - luggage lost in Amsterdam, getting off the train at the wrong stop and having absolutely no idea where to go, attempting to ask for salt only to have the waitress bring you a plate of cheese - all serve as humorous reminders of your foreigner status and why you are there in the first place. To know and show God's love every moment, it's so simple. Each trip only lasts a little while, so every day counts. You make the most of it (living deeply, if you will) because it is the trip of a lifetime, every time.
The funds have been raised in advance - there are no bills to pay, no worries about the day-to-day necessities of life. The plans have been made months before the trip- the work is ready to be done. You're joined with a team of friends, also passionate for sharing the love of Christ. Even the troublesome moments - luggage lost in Amsterdam, getting off the train at the wrong stop and having absolutely no idea where to go, attempting to ask for salt only to have the waitress bring you a plate of cheese - all serve as humorous reminders of your foreigner status and why you are there in the first place. To know and show God's love every moment, it's so simple. Each trip only lasts a little while, so every day counts. You make the most of it (living deeply, if you will) because it is the trip of a lifetime, every time.
What really gets me is, why do I reserve that kind of living for mission trips? Shouldn't every moment of every day be for the glory of God. I may not see that "the funds have been raised" but my Father knows what I need before I ask Him. He says not to worry about the day-to-day necessities of life. The plans, well, I don't know them myself, but we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. And these burdens and pains of life, well, they're just that little reminder that I am an alien and stranger in this world. When I remember that this world is not my home, that I'll only be here a little while, well, every day counts. So, make the most of it, Sara, live deeply. The funds will be there daily, the harvest is plentiful, and this world is passing away. It really is the trip of a lifetime. Live with the love and simplicity and excitement of living on the mission field because, after all, this is one, isn't it?
1 comment:
It is our calling...so why then is it so hard?
Today's sermon had me squirming like a fish with no water. I know who holds me back...I'm just not sure why I let it happen.
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