This time last year I had experienced one of the hardest, challenging, and eye-opening days of my life. It was my first full day at the first placement in a rural Kenyan city and it had been a whopper of emotions. (read more specifics, here). One thing that stood out from the writings of last July 7th and 8th was that doing things you are called to do is weighty. It is a burden to travel out of your culture, your comfort zone. It results in new perspectives that challenge to your core your assumptions, seemingly innate cultural identity, and faith.
Mission life is only described as “majestic” by those who have never lived it. Sure, there are many joys, victories, exciting experiences—but it is also mighty difficult. You are often forced to realize things you had no idea you relied on to maintain a sense of security and comfort—personally- powerful water pressure, driving to a store, fabric softener, and the availability of constant connection. Those of us who have lived missions can only smile and nod at the starry-eyed-well-wishers—if we’re in the right mood and mindset to remember the thrills that do come with cross-cultural work. But our minds may also drift back to the difficulties of daily life that are just as much of a part of the “majestic” missions experience.
You see, all glorious things are weighty. They almost always involve a burden,are cumbrous and difficult. Behind each moment of glory—from finishing a race to moving overseas, to the ultimate example of the cross—is preceded by hours of agony, hard work, tears, and difficult decisions to persevere. Glorious things are not easy and rarely, if ever, are obtained without a struggle. Part of what makes something glorious is the fact that it is fought for—and thus it’s appreciated more fully. This is why the epic stories are so beloved—we recognize glorious journeys by their weight—their toil and triumph. Personally, this season of re-entry, grief, and birthing of new dreams is glorious, weighty, and beautiful.
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