Playing the Waiting Game

Jodi and I are waiting in Evergreen.

We’re waiting for our third baby, which should arrive in about a week.  If the ultrasound pictures are accurate, it should be our third boy in 4 years.  Living in Branson where boys can be boys is exciting.  Thinking about how to train our boys on when and how to “man up” is exhilarating.  The faith exercise deepens as we look at the monthly math of finances and remember that (1) God has always provided and (2) that God is bigger than math.  The thought of getting beat-down by 3 little Jedis in our lightsaber battles makes me grin.  The waiting is the hard part.  There really is nothing I can do to speed up the baby arrival time… which is strangely similar to the second thing we’re waiting on.

We’re waiting for direction and insight into the best way to minister in Branson.  Small town ministry is very different than ministry in larger towns.  In a small town, you know everyone and everyone knows you.  Jodi and I see this as a positive; we desire to live transparent lives and we want people to know what makes us tick.  We’re finding that many people in our little community want more privacy in their lives than we want in ours.   Some of that is healthy.  When everyone knows (almost) everything you do, there’s comfort in having part of your personal life that’s private.  As I study what the Bible says about Christians living in community, transparency is key to how it’s supposed to work.  Getting people to open up to God and to each other is proving to be a very slow, prayerful process.  I’m learning that pace is okay.  Maybe God wants to work in peoples’ lives at his pace, not at our microwave-western-give-it-to-me-5-minutes-ago pace.

What are you waiting on?

From the other side of the planet

Technology is incredible. I just received an email message from a young man in China – yeah, the total other side of the planet. No, this wasn’t a scam artist asking for bank account numbers or passwords.

This is a young man that Jodi and I got to know as we led a Bible study at Colorado Christian University. Like students at a Christian school need more Bible study. It was more of a discipleship group. (The picture you see of our small little group on a retreat in 2002 – the guy I’m writing about is in the middle of the front row – we both had hair then). Jodi and I opened our house to this guy for a summer and got to know him pretty well. This young man is now teaching English (and more importantly) finding himself in China.

What’s the big deal, you ask? Young man gets out of college, then goes to find himself on the other side of the planet… it’s been done before.

The wonderful part about this young man is that he is sharing his story in a very candid (and very well written) blog on MySpace. He is open about his parents, their disappointment in him and choices he’s made, and how he’s questioning everything. He is striving for Truth, not some substitute (someone else’s opinion of truth). His journey would make most conservative Christians cringe, but it’s one of the most authentic journeys I’ve come across yet.

As I share emails with him and read his thoughts on his blog, I am convinced that God is working beautifully in his heart and mind. His desire for authenticity is the evidence. He doesn’t appear to be after pleasure or acceptance – he could have found that here in the States (like most of us if we’re honest with ourselves). He has gone to extreme lengths for that authenticity.

How far have I gone to authentically connect with God? How far am I willing to go? How about you? Would you go to the other side of the world? Are you willing to truly share your journey with your friends and your community? Am I? What are your commitments, obligations, and excuses? What are mine? What is worth putting at risk for that kind of reward?

I hope I’ve passed along some encouragement and a challenge from the other side of the planet.