Kingdom Journey

My son is on a Kingdom Journey with Adventures in Missions called the World Race.  (KylePetersen.TheWorldRace.org)  As I have watched him prepare for this adventure it has left me restless for my own journey.  I actually have been on my own Kingdom Journey for years, without actually calling it that.  We all have been on a journey of our own.  Some journey towards the perfect career or others may be seeking the American Dream.  I have wanted, since I was a young girl, to be used by God.  Sounds lofty even to me.  I guess that is why I spent years completely off track from that calling in my life.

I’m no one spectacular, no special gifts or talents, not beautiful or athletic.  I have fallen often but always somehow get back up again.  I’m not much of an evangelist, speak only English, forget people’s names and lack in administrative skills.  I’ve always wanted to be a missionary but couldn’t imagine what I could possibly do for God’s Kingdom.  Maybe that is why I have enjoyed parenting so much, I have my own small group of disciples that give me more grace than I deserve.  When I dream big it always includes going to the ends of the earth.  I have had opportunities to go on short term mission trips to various countries.  I always go with this hope that God will reveal some amazing thing I didn’t know about myself that He will really need to further His Kingdom.  The truth is I come back more aware of my weaknesses and shortcomings.  God certainly does not “need” me but He has invited me to be part of His Kingdom.

Every time I have ever stepped out of the comfort of my home and “did something” for God, He was pleased with me. He didn’t need me at all.  For whatever reason, time and time again, God puts crazy things on my heart and asks me to obey.  I never feel qualified and often times don’t even see any fruit in the middle of it.  There have even been times He has put something on my heart, I have stepped forward expecting it and in His amazing mercy I haven’t had to complete the task He has asked of me.  Through all of these seemingly insignificant events I have seen the hand of God molding me into His image – to see people as He does, to be kind, loving, grace filled and merciful.  Every time I have stepped out of my comfort zone God has met me in a real way.  I have experienced His love.

When I can feel the fear caused by the media or whoever about refugees, God has reminded me that they too are made in His image.  To open my eyes to the pain that they have gone through to get here and the pain they continue to have in a country that doesn’t speak their language, He has given me an opportunity to meet a family face to face.  I wonder at times if I am in their way or annoying them when I visit but God wants me to know their names and have compassion.  It doesn’t take any special talent to be a friend.  That doesn’t mean it is always easy.

The first few weeks of my sons World Race experience had him and his squad working on a farm preparing it for a kids camp.  The labor was hard and smelly as they cleaned poop out of stalls and white washed walls.  God met those young people at that farm.  He gave them strength and attitudes of worship as they served in a way that was not what they had expected.  I feel challenged too to have this attitude in my day to day events.  I work at a grocery store, not glamorous work but I view it as a ministry.  My prayer as I head out to work is that my smile will encourage people who are battling things that I do not know.  As I encounter the variety of people that come into our store – the moms with 5 kids packing faster than I can ring up their order, the Muslim women in their head coverings shyly looking down when I try to get eye contact,Couples on a date,Teenagers,People with sad eyes from who knows what, children pushing our kid carts, laughing and sometimes reckless, people rushing to the next event, tired people, lonely people, broken people  – I’m reminded that God loves each and every one of them.  They might not love Him or even realize He is there but that does not change the fact that His love is available to them… and He just might use me to show that love.

Luke 17:20-21

Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”

Loving beyond Labels

I’ve been thinking about labels lately.  My first thought was that I really don’t like being labeled.  I wondered if my dislike for labels goes along with my dislike in being told what to do.  Somehow it seems that if you are labeled it takes away your freedom to break out of how other people think of you  by your  label.  I realize it’s a bit more complex because in truth labels help us understand in just a few words what makes a person unique.  Labels can bring compassion:  orphan, widow – with just a word we understand that there has been a loss and we give grace.  It wasn’t that long ago that the word refugee had the same effect.  Where once our hearts were stirred with providing protection for people who have lost everything, experienced tragic emotional and physical abuse beyond what any human deserves to go though, now the same label provokes fear and anger.  The faces no longer haunt us when we chose to look at a generalization, grouping people into a label that might not even be defined correctly.  There is evil in the world and there are definitely terrorists but to equate refugee to terrorists is a stretch at the very least.

When I think of some of the labels that I can fit under:  American, wife, Homeschool mom, Caucasian, Christian etc, I wonder what comes to the mind of the reader?  Depending on where in the world you live you could hear “American” and think immoral (from tv) or gun slinging, crude, proud, I doubt you envision a middle age woman sitting by her fireplace, reading her Bible and dreaming of making a difference in this world.  A label does not do justice because it is skewed by our perception.  The only way that we can get to the heart of a person is by building a relationship with them.  If I put someone in a box, a label, with my own narrow view as the definition, I miss seeing the beautiful diverse world that God has created.  I miss being a part of something so much bigger than anything I could figure out on my own.

It’s the season of Advent – we are waiting and anticipating the arrival of Christ.  The prophets told of a coming Messiah.  That label, Messiah, gave the Jewish people great hope.  That same label gave King Herod great fear which lead to him murdering a whole generation of baby boys.  God spared Jesus by showing Mary and Joseph through a vision to flee.  I wonder how many other families were able to flee the wickedness of King Herod’s pride?  As refugees did their host country of Egypt accept them?  Did they live on barely enough food to stay alive as refugees in camps all over the world do today?  Did they wonder if they would ever get a chance to go home again?  I wonder if their experience being refugees shaped how Jesus saw the broken and hurting around him?  Is that why he said,  “Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me.”? (Matthew 25:40)

I don’t think that it’s reasonable to say we should do away with labels, they serve a purpose.  I also don’t think we will ever go back to a time when everyone within miles of you looked like you, believed as you, spoke your language, ate the same food…. our world is closing in with different cultures right at our door.  It’s time to step out of our comfort zone, take a step towards learning about our neighbors, caring for them as people made in the image of Christ.  I think as I take time to understand, to see beyond the labels or preconceived ideas I may have, I will be the one richer for entering in on the journey of another.  Maybe by being a friend, the labels and preconceived ideas they may have about me will fall away too.  I do know that if all I see is a label, I will miss an opportunity to see the person that I’m sure has as many labels to live under as I do.  As people we are so complex, created after a God that is even more complex.  When I try to imagine who God is I look at the Bible and it’s labels… and even then I get but a glimpse of what an amazing God He is.

Isaiah 9:6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

 

The Struggle

This post is for my Christian friends who I may have offended by my posts of compassion towards the refugees that have been all over the media of late.  My aim has never been to cause disunity or guilt, my aim has been to spur you on to love and good deeds.  I know this maybe missed the point with some people and maybe you have felt I’m attacking your view point – for this I am sorry.  I have struggled quite a bit with how there can be such differing viewpoints concerning the refugee crisis, and how divisive it is.  My initial reaction has been to be outraged (at least in my heart) at the seemingly lack of compassion.  I realize this is wrong.  Wanting to understand, and live in a way that promotes peace, I have gone to the only One I know who can help me get a grasp of this complex issue.  Lord Jesus, help me understand.

The first thing I realized is God has put refugees on my heart years ago.  Many of you haven’t thought much about it until recently.  It doesn’t make me a better person, God just put it on my radar and it went with my love of missions.  I have had years to understand the process, what is the definition of a refugee,  how long they have to pay the government back for plane tickets and expenses, how long most of them live in refugee camps etc.  I have met and become friends with refugees that have a different religion than I do.  I have heard their stories and my heart has been moved.  Life is hard for people who are displaced because of war.  It is not made easier by coming to a country where they may not be welcome, they don’t  yet know the language and they have to find employment fast so they can pay back huge loans from our government.  I have gone through training that has been put together through years and years of experience of helping refugees resettle.  My view has been formed before the media/social media made it into a scary thing.  It has been a process for me, but also a passion fueled by my desire to be involved in spreading the gospel of Christ.  What better way to see other cultures and reach out to them by being the hands and feet of Christ… plus I get to sleep in my own bed at night.  On the flip side of that, since I’m not committed to living in their land, I can get too busy or distracted by my own life and forget about reaching out to those who have resettled here.  Sometimes I feel that I have let my friends down because I have left them to themselves.

Secondly, God helped me see the fear people have through the lens of His Word.  I love how alive the scriptures have been to me lately in light of all the chaos going on in the world.  My reading plan had me reading Acts 9 -10:  This starts with Saul persecuting Christ followers in his religious zeal, but on the road to Damascus (which is in Syria), He encounters Christ in a flash of light.  Jesus said, “Why are you persecuting me?”  God used a vision to cause Saul to do a complete 180 and follow Him.  Needless to say, the disciples had a hard time believing and they were afraid of Saul… even though they had walked through life with Jesus and heard Him over and over again tell them to FEAR NOT.  Fear is not a new thing, we all battle it at some time or another.   It took one man to get to know Saul, to introduce him to his friends and the walls came down.  It’s not my job to worry about what other people are doing, if God asks me to take a risk and make friends with someone of differing beliefs, then I will do it.   My hope is the church will come alongside and offer love as God leads them.

Thirdly, I realize that we are all unique, with different passions and gifts but we are all part of one body.  I know people who are amazing teachers, preachers, some have a heart towards justice, some towards the orphans, some widows, some vets or homeless people and some have a heart for women trapped in the sex traffic industry.  None of us would be very effective if we tried to reach out to everyone of these groups at once.  That doesn’t mean we wouldn’t help if there was a need right in front of us but chances are we aren’t going to go out of our way to meet someone in one of these needs unless God put it on your heart.  I have served with my family at many different non-profits in our city because God has a heart for the broken and I want to have a heart that breaks for what breaks His.  Over the years I have met many people with amazing testimonies of grace because people were passionate for their cause and they came to know God’s love.  I have loved meeting individuals but haven’t always felt God pulling me to get deeper involved in their need.  But when I hear of opportunities to be involved overseas, or with cultures here, or missionaries, or translating God’s Word… I get excited!  These are the things God draws me to most often, but sometimes he wants me to serve in areas that don’t give me the same passion.  I just need to be willing.

Lastly, I just want to encourage my friends to be strong in the Lord.  If you are feeling afraid or confused, go to God and His Word first before heading to the overload of media.  Pray that God would give you a heart like His.  Your job is not to convince the world of God’s plan for them but to live out God’s plan for you.  When God puts someone or something on your heart be ready to follow through and join Him on what He is doing.  Living for God is about taking risks.

 

Help Me Understand

A while ago I wrote a blog called Tainted (https://happytobeahousemama.wordpress.com/2015/10/19/tainted/), about some of the thoughts I wrestle with concerning people of other cultures. This subject is one I am not an expert on by any means, in fact I’m just discovering how much I don’t know. My church is mostly white, I grew up in a town that was mostly white.  I think because I live in a diverse suburb that I somehow understand… but I don’t really understand.  I want to understand, I want to hear the stories, I want to be part of the change for the better.  A few things happened this weekend that drew my mind back to this subject of how we treat people who are different.

First, on Saturday my husband and I attended a regional meeting for our church called “Harmony Matters”.  I actually didn’t really want to go, mostly because Saturday was a beautiful day and I didn’t want to be stuck inside.  Thankfully we went anyway.  The Urban Refuge church has been discussing and seeking harmony in their diverse church for years.  As a result of many conversations within the church of various races they have learned a great deal.  It was so much to take in and will be something that I will have to continue to process.  What I realize is that I have been extremely naive to what people of color or different cultures endure.  Every person has their own story and when we make broad assumptions we miss seeing the unique people that make up this world.  Help me Lord to understand.

The second thing that got my attention was hearing that a woman in Coon Rapids attacked a Somali woman at Applebees because she wasn’t speaking “American”.  The woman attacked was Muslim, she spoke 3 languages but was with her family so they were speaking in their native language.  I was shocked at the level of hate that this woman had for someone she didn’t even know.  I couldn’t help but wonder what her story was?  What both of their stories were?  I wanted to apologize to this African woman.  When I saw the white woman who so violently attacked this woman, all I could see was an angry, broken person.  Hurting people hurt people.  What could possibly have been done to her to make her feel so insecure about someone different than her?  Unfortunately, the story is all over the media in Africa as well as here – another chance for people to see Americans as evil, feeding into stereotypes of who we are.  Help us to understand.

Here is the thing:  There are going to be more and more people arriving from different cultures – with all the displaced people in the world that is just something I think the whole world is going to have to get used to.  How we respond to all the people is a heart issue.  The only way to change is to examine our own hearts.  As I look at my own heart I know that I am guilty of making assumptions, of not hearing the story and seeing the individual – this is something I want to grow in.  I remember when our family went to Cameroon and how delighted I was when we broke the stereotype that an African man had of white people – but it took him spending time with us and seeing us as individuals.  His friendship means so much to our family, what a blessing to know him.  It’s worth the awkward start of reaching out to know someone deeper.  Let’s each of us pray to God to help us understand.

Here are some links to help see the world from a new perspective:

https://embed-ssl.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html

To understand more of refugees: http://communicatingacrossboundariesblog.com/2015/09/10/self-sufficiency-in-8-months-how-to-settle-a-refugee/

Tainted

Lately I have been disturbed by thoughts that go flying through my mind, thoughts of judgement, distrust, fear or dislike of people. I haven’t met any of these people personally, they are just groups of people that I have heard about through the media or social media. I don’t cling to these thoughts for long because I know they are wrong, but the fact that they come at all bothers me. I happen to love learning about and meeting people of other cultures. I am always amazed at the stories people have lived through, the perseverance, suffering, hardship – beyond anything I can imagine. I know that people are people – they love their families, desire freedom and long to be loved. Why then do I get sucked into these ugly feelings about whole groups of people? In a word – Ignorance.

Recently my son and I had the privilege of spending some time with a Muslim man from Africa. My son was taking a class on World Religions and this man offered to answer questions and to tell his story. It was fascinating because he grew up in a little village where as a boy he would clean the Christian church in the same village. He remembers his Mother and the other Muslim women cooking for the Christian women on Christian holidays. He also remembers the Christian women cooking for his family during their Muslim holidays. It wasn’t until he came to the USA that he discovered that was not how things are everywhere. He grew up living in a community where respect for each others beliefs was common and lived out practically. Whether or not that is the same in that village today or not, I do not know, but I can see that it impacted how this man lives today.

It isn’t just Muslims, it can be any group that thinks/believes differently than I do. It can be different denominations, colors, political groups etc. For me, I can easily want to avoid any “extreme” groups that bully people into following them, but even then if I took the time to talk to an individual in that group I would probably find some similarities to myself. I remember when our family lived in Ndu, Cameroon for just a few short months, when we entered the market area you could hear the shop owners call out “White Man” and that message being passed along to the different venders. It was meant as a heads up for the shops to jack their prices up because they knew they could get away with charging us “rich” Americans a higher price. It didn’t feel good to be clumped into a category and treated a certain way because of their preconceived idea of who or what we were. On the other hand, as we became friends with individual Cameroonians, they were able to see past the color of our skin, the skepticism they might have had vanished and they were able to enjoy the similarities we shared… as well as learn about the differences of our cultures/lives. I think of that experience often when I have the privilege of meeting someone new, especially from another culture. It makes me want to be a good representative of all that I represent – Being female, White, American, Christian, Married, Mother etc.

It’s interesting because any time we clump everyone that fits a certain category together and decide that they are all the same just because of a past experience we may have had with one representative, we end up missing the opportunity to see the individuals within that group. I think this happens with God too. I have met many people over the years who have turned their back on God, but not because God did something wrong. God’s people too often misrepresent God and what His Word says about him. I went through a time in my life where I was disillusioned because of horrible choices people made, people who called themselves Christians. I looked up to these people and when I saw that their life was a lie, I thought God must be too. Thankfully, God was patient with me and through His grace in my life I was able to see that people will fail but God never does. I desire to represent God well as a Christ follower but at times I too fail to do that well.

Our small group is getting involved with refugees through Arrive Ministries here in Minnesota. We are learning about the plight of the refugee and will be welcoming a refugee family to our area. This will involve pushing aside any misconceptions we may have and building a relationship with a family that has walked through tremendous difficulties. As I head into this new season, anticipating these new relationships, I am reminded that I am called to love. To overcome my ignorance there are a number of books about cultures and refugees. To overcome my tainted mind I am filling it with truth found in God’s word. It is a privilege to be an ambassador for Christ and I want to do it well. To overcome my fears, I will take the time to get to know individuals, to hear their story and to build a bridge of trust by sharing mine as well. All people are created in the image of God, they are valued and deserve to be heard. We live in a broken world, hurting people all around us needing to hear words of hope and see love in action…. Will you join me?