“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance….Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
…lights
The kids laugh and say it’s certain a move is coming when mom starts reading Fitted Pieces and starts looking at houses on the internet. Since I can only do one of these this year, the day I pulled out my handy book on missionary kid transitions, resilience in change, etc. they decided our move was immanent and began counting down the days. I’m certain a move is around the corner when my thoughts turn to the subject of roots. Do I have any? How do I keep the good from this place and allow myself to be transplanted yet again and enjoy what God has for me in the new? So at 48 days left, I’ve finished reading all those reminders about how to “do” transition and begin contemplating. It’s time to get ready…
…camera
In the fertile African soil, I’ve discovered that many plants can be transplanted with no roots at all. Just cut off a branch and stick it in the soil, keep it watered and it will grow. Roses, geraniums, and all kinds of stuff I don’t have names for grow this way, and I have a brand new flower garden to prove it. As our family transitions from missions to staying in the states, I feel like this is the way I’m being transplanted. Just chop me off from all that is familiar in life and commitments I thought would take a lifetime and stick me in the ground of a place where the roots have to form completely from scratch. I love missions. The need is just as great as it ever was. The percentage of people that know Jesus in Estonia has not changed. Still, half the churches in Cameroon have no trained pastor. The Fulani people who live in this area of Cameroon are still unreached. Many languages remain to be translated. And yet, God has made it clear that I am to bloom in another corner of his garden. “Consider it joy… What good is faith without action?” In between these passages, James says that God gives wisdom to those who ask. We have asked. We believe God is directing us. We are told not to doubt. Maybe it sounds strange, that a move home would feel like a trial for me. But it does. It’s uncertain. Instead of saying, “See you next year” to new friends and colleagues as we had anticipated when we moved to Cameroon, we are saying, “Add me to your newsletter list.” I don’t understand the “why” God is moving us or the “how” I’m going to fit into this new life. My faith is being tested as I must walk yet again into an unknown future. God is completing me. God knows the work left to be done, but He is also concerned with what is lacking in my own life.
…action
Realistically, friends wait for me. Family is on that side of the ocean. The culture and language are familiar. So I won’t really be starting from scratch. It’s my thought processes and heart condition that feel as though this transition, of the many I’ve made in life, is especially abrupt, painful, as though I’m being completely cut off from the plant I belong to. Will I ever “fit in” again? Will I be impatient with my home culture? Will I feel guilty for using water 24/7? Will I be able to integrate all that I’ve learned over two terms of missions into my new life stateside? In many ways, I’m a different person than the one who set off 10 years ago. Will I wither or learn to bloom again and complement the garden of my home church? Will I prove my faith by what I do? Will I believe and not doubt, that God knows what He’s doing in my family? I hope so.
…lights
The kids laugh and say it’s certain a move is coming when mom starts reading Fitted Pieces and starts looking at houses on the internet. Since I can only do one of these this year, the day I pulled out my handy book on missionary kid transitions, resilience in change, etc. they decided our move was immanent and began counting down the days. I’m certain a move is around the corner when my thoughts turn to the subject of roots. Do I have any? How do I keep the good from this place and allow myself to be transplanted yet again and enjoy what God has for me in the new? So at 48 days left, I’ve finished reading all those reminders about how to “do” transition and begin contemplating. It’s time to get ready…
…camera
In the fertile African soil, I’ve discovered that many plants can be transplanted with no roots at all. Just cut off a branch and stick it in the soil, keep it watered and it will grow. Roses, geraniums, and all kinds of stuff I don’t have names for grow this way, and I have a brand new flower garden to prove it. As our family transitions from missions to staying in the states, I feel like this is the way I’m being transplanted. Just chop me off from all that is familiar in life and commitments I thought would take a lifetime and stick me in the ground of a place where the roots have to form completely from scratch. I love missions. The need is just as great as it ever was. The percentage of people that know Jesus in Estonia has not changed. Still, half the churches in Cameroon have no trained pastor. The Fulani people who live in this area of Cameroon are still unreached. Many languages remain to be translated. And yet, God has made it clear that I am to bloom in another corner of his garden. “Consider it joy… What good is faith without action?” In between these passages, James says that God gives wisdom to those who ask. We have asked. We believe God is directing us. We are told not to doubt. Maybe it sounds strange, that a move home would feel like a trial for me. But it does. It’s uncertain. Instead of saying, “See you next year” to new friends and colleagues as we had anticipated when we moved to Cameroon, we are saying, “Add me to your newsletter list.” I don’t understand the “why” God is moving us or the “how” I’m going to fit into this new life. My faith is being tested as I must walk yet again into an unknown future. God is completing me. God knows the work left to be done, but He is also concerned with what is lacking in my own life.
…action
Realistically, friends wait for me. Family is on that side of the ocean. The culture and language are familiar. So I won’t really be starting from scratch. It’s my thought processes and heart condition that feel as though this transition, of the many I’ve made in life, is especially abrupt, painful, as though I’m being completely cut off from the plant I belong to. Will I ever “fit in” again? Will I be impatient with my home culture? Will I feel guilty for using water 24/7? Will I be able to integrate all that I’ve learned over two terms of missions into my new life stateside? In many ways, I’m a different person than the one who set off 10 years ago. Will I wither or learn to bloom again and complement the garden of my home church? Will I prove my faith by what I do? Will I believe and not doubt, that God knows what He’s doing in my family? I hope so.
Posts
1 comment:
No doubt you will bloom. Hugs to you.
Post a Comment