The day we left our first home in June 2014 for the unknown in Africa, we left with a mix of feelings- sadness, anticipation but most of all, fear. With three suitcases, we wondered if we would survive Africa. I remember, the beginning of 2014 was filled with uncertainty and trepidation of what our commitment to missions would mean.
Six months after mid-2014, we found ourselves spending a quiet Christmas on our front yard, looking at the year gone past- having packed up what we thought guaranteed comfort and happiness: a nice home, a comfortable job, little luxuries.
But at Christmas time, our first away from home without dazzling lights and party feasts, with our new home left pin-drop quiet with everyone returning to their rural villages for celebrations, we found ourselves unpacking gifts of a different kind: a new dream of serving the underprivileged, and a new dimension of what joy, reward and contentment means.
A “nice home” now means a grassy front yard with a glorious blue sky, colorful sunbirds and playful monkeys; a “comfortable job” now means a rewarding role in empowering the poor and restoring their dignity; “little luxuries” are receiving a thoughtful gift from home, a discovery of a new store selling Chinese tofu (!), or a hearty home-cooked meal of chocolate cake and shepherd’s pie.
The first half of 2014 brought back memories of paring away excess. Time was running out, baggage space was diminishing and yet, there were too many things to tie up, too many items to bring, too many places we had yet to visit before saying goodbye. Looking back, it was a life of overabundance, a life pursuing new sensations, a life requiring more and more.
Then Africa came, and we found a new life, a life of less. The less it demanded, the less we desired, and in the end, it became more than we ever needed. With less, time became ample. With less, our provisions became sufficient. With less, our hearts became full. Without the superfluous excess of desire, came deep satisfaction, profound contentment, and great joy.
The fact is, if we look at God’s call for our lives from the standpoint of what we have left or what we need to leave behind, we will always be trapped in the yesteryear pains of regret, limping between the anguish of what could have been and what is now.
But if we look at what we have gained or place our trust in what we will gain, we will gladly count all that was lost as nothing, compared to the exceeding great reward that we have been led to, by the grace of God.
When Christ left heaven to walk on earth, He never counted what He lost- heavenly comforts, only what He gained through fulfilling the call of God in His life. Therein, came great joy.
As we stand on the cusp of a new year, looking back at the year gone by, let us forget that which we have already left behind, and press into the goodness of what God has in store for us. When we give up what we think we need, to give into what He wants for our lives, the result will always be far more and far better than we ever dared imagine.
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended:
but this one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind,
and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
-Philippians 3:13-14