I am a sucker for those 'faith in humanity restored' post that you will find spamming your Facebook feed or your Pinterest (if you have one of those). Basically every time even if I have read it before or saw that video already, I usually ending up crying --ahem, may have bawled a few times but don't tell anyone that. Once again today I saw a video of a man who had rescued over 600 children during the Holocaust and met them for the first time many years later. I had a good little cry. I wondered though as I watched this video, what resonants with me so much with these type of videos? Why do they struck such a cord?
It gives me hope. It gives me hope that the Lord is still working through his creation. His goodness is still seen. These acts defy human nature, which is selfish at its core. It is people who are willing to step out or who are willing to take that time out of their day to make a difference in someone's life.
It also I think a window into what the church would look like if they radically followed Christ. The church is not perfect, which I fully realize as being part of it, but it is something we can strive for. To live differently from the cultural norm. To live differently from what is defined as human nature.
These type of videos and posts also inspire me. I think I would love to say at the end of my life that I saved a person's life or countless lives. To make a difference in this world, at least to that one starfish. The caution though is that I am not doing this for my own glory but rather for the one who created and saved me, Jesus Christ. I know that I am called to be the light and salt of the world. I am called to be Christ's hands and feet along with the rest of the church. However the Lord wants to work that out into my life, I need to be obedient.
As I was thinking about this, one thing really struck me-- it was the Lord reminding me. In order to be like this, I need to be different from the society around me. I can't live the life of what is considered 'normal' in my culture. I can't afford to be selfish and self-centered, being enveloped in my own world. Once again, it is that reminder that we are not called to the American dream. It is about being sensitive to the Spirit's leading in certain situations, it is about stepping out of what is comfortable.
Honestly, I am writing this more for myself than anyone else. I have so much to learn. I need still to grow so much. The beautiful thing though is that I am not alone. It is Christ who strengthens me, who leads me and brings this change within me. May we all -- including myself-- be obedient to where and what the Lord calls us to in that instance. May we be the light and salt of the earth for Christ.
(sorry if there are any grammatical or spelling errors. I didn't check it over. I just wanted to get my thoughts out before I went back to paper writing).
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Saturday, November 1, 2014
My November Guest
Well, since it now November, I thought this poem would be appropriate. It is a poem by Robert Frost that I just discovered yesterday, actually. I really love poetry as it really describes the human condition whether it be tragedy or love in such a beautiful way. I guess it is the romanticist coming out in me. There is a reason I enjoy Romanticism paintings so much. Anyways, enjoy!
My November Guest
My Sorrow, when she’s here with me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain
Are beautiful as days can be;
She loves the bare, the withered tree,
She walks the sodden pasture lane.
Her pleasure will not let me stay.
She talks and I am fain to list.
She’s glad the birds are gone away,
She’s glad her simple worsted grey
Is silver now with clinging mist.
The desolate, deserted trees,
The faded earth, the heavy sky,
The beauties she so truly sees,
She thinks I have no eye for these,
And vexes me for reason why.
Not yesterday I learned to know
The love of bare November days
Before the coming of the snow,
But it were vain to tell her so,
And they are better for her praise.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Gravity
Well, it has been a long, long time since I have wrote anything. Better late than never, right?
There has been a lot of things that I have been processing since I have gotten back from Cambodia, but right I want to talk about the reality of living overseas as a missionary.
From quite young (I think 12?) I thought that I would probably be involved in missions. This wasn't fully realized though until I was 18, when I went to Turkey for the general assembly for C&M Alliance. The first time I went travelling, I was hooked. I loved seeing new places, new people and experiencing life in a different place. Looking back, I can see this even in when we went camping every summer. I always wanted to explore.
So, after I finished Kaleo, I went into the TESOL program because I knew that is how I wanted to approach going overseas. Things changed, I went into Intercultural Studies instead....and then I decided to do TESOL also three years later. I loved the courses I took for Intercultural Studies. Still honestly, one of my favourite courses was Cultural Anthropology. I loved the nations, cultures, and languages! Looking back though, I romanticized the missionary life. There is definitely a beauty of abandoning the familiar, living in a different culture and learning to adapt. It is gruelling work and not for the faint of heart. Working along the nationals to bring glory to God and witnessing through how we lived our lives among them. I romanticized it though, and in many ways even though I knew many of the realities, I brushed them off. One of these was being separated from family. I knew this was a reality, but I thought I could handle it. Things changed though.
Before I go any further, I would like to state that I am not against missions or going into missions. At this point, I still see myself going overseas, I am just seeing starting to see the whole picture now for the first time.
When I went to Cambodia I came to realize the reality. The reality of my own sin, but also I saw a glimpse of the reality of serving Christ in this context.
I always thought that it would be easy to leave the comfort of my family and home, well, at least when I was younger. But honestly, I found it hard. I am not a homebody by any means but it is hard to be so far from your family. You are living in a separate world. I missed my family.
I also came to realize what I leaned on when times became tough. Sadly, I hate to admit, for the most part it wasn't Christ. Missions definitely has a way of refining and shaping you, revealing your sinful nature. I learned that I depended heavily on materialism. Also, for the first time in my life I struggled with my body image. I found it hard being around women who are much smaller than I was and having people commenting on my 'bigness'. Where was my value? Was I putting it in outer appearances?
Honestly, I failed numerous times. But the amazing thing is that God is so faithful. No matter how many times I messed up on my internship, he proved so faithful. His grace was overwhelming. In many different ways he worked in my life. He also revealed to me my passion for cross-cultural ministry, for children, and for teaching.
I still have that heart for cross-cultural ministry. God revealed some things for me during my time in Cambodia, things that need refining in my life. It has made me realize now more than ever just how much I need Christ. I cannot do it alone.
So even though I failed this last time and I realized just how hard it was, I don't want to quite. I know that living a life for Christ is not meant to be easy. It is not about comfort.
There has been a lot of things that I have been processing since I have gotten back from Cambodia, but right I want to talk about the reality of living overseas as a missionary.
From quite young (I think 12?) I thought that I would probably be involved in missions. This wasn't fully realized though until I was 18, when I went to Turkey for the general assembly for C&M Alliance. The first time I went travelling, I was hooked. I loved seeing new places, new people and experiencing life in a different place. Looking back, I can see this even in when we went camping every summer. I always wanted to explore.
So, after I finished Kaleo, I went into the TESOL program because I knew that is how I wanted to approach going overseas. Things changed, I went into Intercultural Studies instead....and then I decided to do TESOL also three years later. I loved the courses I took for Intercultural Studies. Still honestly, one of my favourite courses was Cultural Anthropology. I loved the nations, cultures, and languages! Looking back though, I romanticized the missionary life. There is definitely a beauty of abandoning the familiar, living in a different culture and learning to adapt. It is gruelling work and not for the faint of heart. Working along the nationals to bring glory to God and witnessing through how we lived our lives among them. I romanticized it though, and in many ways even though I knew many of the realities, I brushed them off. One of these was being separated from family. I knew this was a reality, but I thought I could handle it. Things changed though.
Before I go any further, I would like to state that I am not against missions or going into missions. At this point, I still see myself going overseas, I am just seeing starting to see the whole picture now for the first time.
When I went to Cambodia I came to realize the reality. The reality of my own sin, but also I saw a glimpse of the reality of serving Christ in this context.
I always thought that it would be easy to leave the comfort of my family and home, well, at least when I was younger. But honestly, I found it hard. I am not a homebody by any means but it is hard to be so far from your family. You are living in a separate world. I missed my family.
I also came to realize what I leaned on when times became tough. Sadly, I hate to admit, for the most part it wasn't Christ. Missions definitely has a way of refining and shaping you, revealing your sinful nature. I learned that I depended heavily on materialism. Also, for the first time in my life I struggled with my body image. I found it hard being around women who are much smaller than I was and having people commenting on my 'bigness'. Where was my value? Was I putting it in outer appearances?
Honestly, I failed numerous times. But the amazing thing is that God is so faithful. No matter how many times I messed up on my internship, he proved so faithful. His grace was overwhelming. In many different ways he worked in my life. He also revealed to me my passion for cross-cultural ministry, for children, and for teaching.
I still have that heart for cross-cultural ministry. God revealed some things for me during my time in Cambodia, things that need refining in my life. It has made me realize now more than ever just how much I need Christ. I cannot do it alone.
So even though I failed this last time and I realized just how hard it was, I don't want to quite. I know that living a life for Christ is not meant to be easy. It is not about comfort.
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