Day in the Life of....

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I plunk down with my computer in my lap after a long day. I stretch my aching neck and make note of all the muscles that are sore today that I didn't even know existed before my painting work the last few days. I sigh. What can I possibly share this week? I think to myself. It feels sort of anti-climactic being a missionary in preparation, then on the field and then back home for a time all in the course of a year. I can't report any exotic foods, crazy exploits, or touching encounters this week. Just the faithfulness of every day. I guess you can tell that's a thing with me lately. I'm learning about faithfulness in the waiting right now and you get to hear my thoughts as I muse on the lessons the Lord is teaching me.

This week I've spent a day at the hospital with my Grandma as she underwent some tests. The next two days I painted our bathroom that's being remodeled and worked to keep the house in order in the mean time. Then I spent a day working on odds and ends around the house that had fallen through the cracks as I Skyped a friend in Papua New Guinea and baked some bread. I also spent time trying to do damage control for an appointment I had forgotten and communications I had dropped because of how distracted and exhausted I've been of late. Doesn't feel too spectacular especially after spending the first six months of this year hiking through jungles, swimming over reefs, learning new languages and interacting with new cultures on a daily basis. There's nothing like the everyday to reveal just how human a person is -- including missionaries. But that's something else I've been learning.

I'm human.

Sounds silly, but it's true. I'm broken, weak, ineffective, and imperfect. That's not a call for people to rally and encourage me. On the contrary, the very fact that I'm so very imperfect has been bringing me great encouragement because its been bringing me to the throne of Jesus Christ. He has said, "In your weakness I am made strong," "I will use the weak things of this world to confound the strong and the foolish to confound the wise." Scripture is filled with how much God yearns for us to recognize and confess our weakness so that His perfection and strength can shine through the imperfect vessels of our lives. The very fact that I'm so human, and admitting it, is allowing God to use me in ways I had never thought possible. So here's to all the humans out there, slogging through the everyday and seeking to faithfully honor God in the small stuff. I'm with you my friends, and together, maybe our small hands will accomplish the great things God has planned.

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