“Have you seen the movie, The Way?” Two women near me were comparing movies and this one caught my attention because I had, indeed, seen it. (The rest all sounded like Woody Allen movie titles.) It was a brilliant movie with all of the things I love best, a sense of place, interesting food, amazing dialogue and Martin Sheen. The overhear prompted me to go back and look at the website for it where I was struck by the tagline at the top: You don’t choose a life, you live one. This idea of being driven by mission both intrigues and scares me. There is a loss of control inherent in the very idea of not having a choice… and attempting to be at peace with this has frequently eluded me. Not so for others I know though. Some of the best artists, for example were practically, or actually, driven mad by their passion, whatever their medium- writing, canvas, stage. Passion, I believe, is the other side of mission. It is the living out of mission. The question is, how do we tap into our passion and do we have the courage to embrace it when we find it. There are many different forms of mission, but one of the most obvious to recognize is the proselytizer. What I am coming to see, though, is that all missions are born of the same inner desire to be who we were born to be… in other words, to live our life rather than attempt to choose it. One of my barista friends at Starbucks is a wonderful example of this. Raised in a family of missionaries, Justin is now leading his own missions to Prague. Justin, in fact, was born in Germany while his parents were on mission there with Cadence International (which provides Christian ministry for U.S. soldiers and their families stationed around the world). Why Prague? For many years the Czech Republic was under communist rule where all organized religions, including Christianity, were persecuted. Now many missions go to rebuild the churches there. Setting up a missionary trip is not an easy task for anyone, even assuming the support of a local church. But in this case it is even more daunting as Justin is in his early twenties and is drawing on his previous church in Colorado to help him. He has gone on missions with Bethany Evangelical Free Church before, but this will be the first one he has actually organized himself. Still, 15 of his friends have agreed to go on this mission with him from July 8th to the 24th this year. As I write about this I am struck by the idea that 16 young adults have enough passion to spend part of their summer on a mission. I can’t imagine I would have had the courage to do this at that age. Passion truly comes in many different forms. I feel grateful that over time I have found my calling, my mission if you will, in my writing. Through this I am no as scared as I used to be when I hear someone talk of their own personal mission. I understand it so much better now than I ever have before. I wish Justin a ton of success with his own mission. I know it won’t be easy, not the least of which is because each individual on the team must fundraise to earn $2,400 in order to participate. Then again… it may not be the summer they choose, but the summer they live. (Note: If you would like to donate to their cause or learn more about it you can contact Justin Schroeder at justins.91@gmail.com)
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“Someone stole my magnets.”
I felt awfully sorry for the third grader who had created an amazing science project and then realized someone had wrecked it by stealing the key element. It is hard to fathom what one of the other students would find so compelling about a couple of magnets. But then again, I don’t often understand what goes through the minds of elementary school kids. For example, what part of putting bird poop into a mud pie is so compelling? And why would you take a water balloon onto a trampoline? And don’t even get me started about food choices? I am frequently at a loss as to why my daughter does what she does. It is certainly always a hustle to stay one step ahead of her. Take the situation where she decides she wants to cuddle up with me in bed. One part of me wants to believe it is because I am so loved and appreciated. The other, smarter, side of me knows it probably has more to do with wanting to avoid her homework or bedtime. The eyes in the back of my head thing used to be so much easier when she was younger and I knew exactly what was going through her cute little brain. Lately, though, I think she is outsmarting me more often than not. She, like all kids, may not always end up doing the right thing. But I know she mostly tries, and that is enough for me. Just like the magnets stolen from that student, there is a terrible attraction toward doing the wrong thing and it isn’t always easy to turn our backs and oppose it. The good thing is that it might be more difficult, but it is never too late, to break the connection. |
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June 2020
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