Every once in awhile I have a moment of clarity. It's as if the haze lifts for the sun to break through, and for that brief period of time I understand the world I live in. The devil's snares no longer entrap me and for once I know what to do. Last week was a time such as this.
I just got back from a mission trip to Piedras Negras, Mexico. It was probably the strangest mission trip I had ever been on because the first part of the week we worked on construction, while the latter part of the week we worked on cleanup from a tornado that wiped out nearly two years worth of mission construction work. Possibly more on that in another post.
This mission trip couldn't have come at a better time. I had spent the last three or four months working extremely hard at my job. It wasn't uncommon for me to work anywhere from 50-65 hours a week. So when the trip finally arrived, I left my BlackBerry at home and decided I was going to focus solely on the work at hand.
It's hard at times to know what this life is really about. Sometimes we totally invest ourselves in our work and think that working hard is the way to go. Other times we involve ourselves in numerous church activities thinking that life is somehow wrapped up in being involved in everything church-related. Still some of us get caught up in the idea that the intellect is what's it is about and fight theological wars on ways to be part of God's kingdom. None of that seems relevant though when you're truely serving God. It is no longer a matter of what is theologically correct, religously righteous, or morally valuable. Instead it boils down to loving your brothers and sisters, and handling the situation in the moment.
Perhaps that's what I like so much about the mission field, and probably more accurately, mission trips. Everytime I'm on a trip I am so busy that I haven't the time to worry about being religious. All I have time for is doing God's work.
I'm back home now, and tomorrow it's back to work. I don't know what that means. Will the haze return? Will I go back to being religious and attempting to be morally superior to others? Will I care more about wondering whether we should have instruments in the church or other similar squabbles than the lost? Let's hope not. Here's to a good fight!
...on the way home.
Stats and Stuff
1 comment:
Oh my goodness. I hope you don't mind Blake, but I have been reading your blog, maybe for the past month or two. Anyway, I just had to post a comment because I have been going to Piedras Negras too since about March of last year. Were you working on an orphanage down there? I ask that because I know that there are several churches there. Two of the men's name is Elias and another is Hector that work closely with the groups that come. Oh wow- I heard that there weren't any injuries, but I hadn't heard about how bad the material losses were. I am glad you were able to go. It is a wonderful experience.
Sorry this comment is so long, but I just had to write.
Take care,
Amy Jo
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