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My Letter to Future Goers

Posted on Saturday, April 6, 2019

Future goer, this is what I hope you can hold on to:

I remember leaving with wild dreams of this beautiful dance of ministry. I expected perfection, I expected deep relationship, I expected great respect and trust and discipleship. But it was messy. Team life was messy and ministry was messy and trying to live in to what the Lord was revealing to me as well as others was messy. But it was brilliant. All of it. The healing and challenge and sanctification that came about because of humble obedience and a posture of humility will forever astound me. He calls us to lean in to that exact messiness with great love. How else could the gospel be expressed if we didn’t do just that? Wherever He leads you, trust His sovereignty over the difficult. Trust that He is sovereign over the beautiful and good.

I hope you know you are entering into a holy space. Every time you are welcomed in to a home, an apartment, out to dinner, into someone’s story-call it holy. Name it holy. Every time you walk and laugh and love and do life alongside those the world has claimed as “the other,” it is a sign of His Kingdom. It is a beautiful expression of paths and history reconciling and coming together. It seems small, but see the miracle in it. It seems like everyday living, but claim God’s goodness in it, claim His grace in it. For it is truly by both His goodness and His grace that you get to call a little corner of the world home for a season.

 

Get rooted and get comfortable.

Don’t be afraid to set some roots and get comfortable in your new place. There will be natural tendencies to drift towards what is familiar and what feels safe. That is okay and happens as you learn to adapt and find your feet in a new community. But remember there is miracle and much to discover by engaging with the new. The Lord has much to teach you there.

Embrace the ways that new people will take the front row seats to your life. Embrace the challenge that comes with clashing ideals and cultures; let yourself be lead through it all with God, giving grace and love.

I spent a lot of my beginning mourning all that I had stepped away from. Family, friends, familiarity. It’s okay to let it break you, it’s okay to mourn over it. But believe that in the breaking He is molding and believe that in the breaking and the longing He will provide some of the most precious gifts and people. They will challenge you and speak truth to you over and over again. Let yourself be loved and held by those in your new community who step right into it with you.

You can’t do it alone.

Remember you are the stranger, coming in to a space that is all new territory for you. Take on great humility and ask community members, trusted friends and families in your community to teach you about their home. Never assume because of what you have read, what you have researched and what you have experienced before that you know everything there is to know about a place. Let others be your guide, let others teach you about their land and their ways and what makes them laugh. It can be formal exchanges, yes, or it can look a lot like showing up over and over again to experience the unspoken nature of those you have been called to serve among. Open your eyes, listen, and lean right in to the newness of your community.

 

Learn to recognize the limits of your own hospitality.

Learn to notice where + when you find your heart limping and weary. Learn to notice when you invite others in out of necessity versus when you invite them in out of an abundance of the heart. There is a difference. With knowing your limits you can begin to create healthy boundaries that will shape how you rest and walk with the Lord, as well as shape the generosity and space of your invitation. Let the Lord teach you about radical hospitality and invitation while He leads you to spaces of rest with Him. There is great abundance in time spent with Him. Don’t dismiss it in pursuit of lifeless and forced hospitality.

 

Proclaim the movements of the Lord

There will be days and weeks and months that are heavy and hard. You will walk through loss and grieve the physical and spiritual poverties present in your neighborhood. Be broken by what you see, by what the Lord allows you to walk in. But remember the power of proclamation. Remember the power of gratitude, naming His gifts and rejoicing.

Throughout the book of Acts, there is this beautiful rhythm of proclamation. The disciples are lead and moved throughout different lands and people groups. They are weary and tired and discouraged, but when they come together they testify to what the Lord has done. Despite their weaknesses, despite the unbelief and persecution, they testify to the works of the Lord. Remember you are part of the movement of His church. He will allow you to see and bear witness to these beautiful miracles.

“After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified God.” Acts 21: 19-20

May you humbly speak to the movements of the Lord and watch as He gets the glory.

 

If nothing else, remember this. The Holy God is moving you forward.

He is inviting your surrender and trust.

May you have great courage to walk forward with Him.

 

Goer-

Be encouraged. Be expectant in the journey.

Soon enough you will be proclaiming the ways in which the Lord is moving through you in your community.

And oh what a treasure that will be.

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