Build On! Better than Lego Pieces You Are

I recently read a newsletter that compared Lego pieces to the church's ability to do something amazing in foster care. I think the same is true in my line of work, orphan care with Back2Back Ministries. 

Allow me to recap a few points I really liked (*Lego analogy borrowed, not mine)...

"The thing with Legos is that often what you are able to build is limited by the pieces you have." Once you build up quite the collection, no matter how elaborate your Lego creation is, there are always more Legos there for you to use.  (2nd line is my paraphrase)

This summer I had the honor and privilege to serve alongside of HUNDREDS of people engaged in global orphan care. They traveled from all over the United States, Canada, and even Norway, using their vacation time and finances to invest in the lives of the orphans we care for.  One of the roles I had this summer was debriefing several of these visiting teams. Debriefing is a simple end of the day activity to reflect and capture how Heaven is invading/colliding with your life that day.  It is a moment to take stock on what God is teaching you about yourself, others/the world, and Himself. And what He is asking you to do about what He is pressing on your heart. 

Meeting all of these incredible Christ followers and hearing their stories, I realize that we have a surplus of Lego pieces to build something amazing in orphan care. We are not lacking pieces. I was surrounded by people who desire nothing more for the children and caregivers we serve to feel loved, cared for, appreciated, wanted and to know Jesus Christ as their Savior.

"There are so many people who want to do something but just need encouragement and a few tools.  And of course, there are thousands of churches filled with people on a journey to figure out how the gospel can be demonstrated through their lives."

I witnessed that truth this summer; better than Lego pieces these people are.  Our guests are amazingly talented individuals uniquely called and desiring to serve Jesus with their lives.  I am thankful that the ministry I work with constantly strives to encourage and equip these individuals. It is a shared passion of mine.  

Thank you visiting teams, co-laborers, and countless other ministries involved in orphan care and foster care around the world. We are building something amazing and I can't wait to witness as much of it as I can in my lifetime.  Let's build on!

Relationships are Hard, Quit Faking

It's been awhile since I have blogged. I love to journal with pen and paper, so this blogging thing didn't go as smoothly for me as I had hoped. But, like many bloggers say...I'm going to try and do better. I was looking back through some of my journal entries from my transition "home" to the USA from Mexico. Here is one that I hope you enjoy.

For years now I have subscribed and strived for the Christian cliché, "You must be happy at all times. If you are sad, angry, frustrated, overwhelmed, and anything but joyful and you have Jesus, why would someone who doesn’t believe in Jesus want to believe? Be joyful, so they will want the life with Jesus you have.” 

Someone once told me that crying and experiencing emotional ups and downs are only experienced by those who are not spending time with Jesus. I've wrestled with that for many years now, literally trying to train myself to control any and every emotion and when I have them. I force myself to control tears and keep my emotions in tact, especially in front of any authority figures or people in leadership. I feared that any emotion outside of "having it all together" would make people, especially in my "Christian circle," think I was unstable and not spending time with Jesus. And as for those in authority, this thought played in my head: how will I ever get leadership roles myself if I am not perfectly emotionally steady? 

I love Jesus and spend time just being His friend and learning from Him all the time. As I come to love Jesus more and more, I realize daily that relationships are tough and I've been believing lies- allowing my emotional steadiness to be a sign of my closeness with Jesus. 

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. 

Galatians 1:10

New International Version (NIV)

The origin or root of this fear goes even further back to my extremely legalistic beginnings as a Jesus follower. I wanted (and still do want) everyone to love the Jesus I am crazy about. So I subscribed to the notion that I could not display any emotions outside of joyful, content, and happy. Otherwise, who would want Jesus? I strived to model how great life was with Him at all times so people who didn't believe would want to believe. I could not let my faith cause any worry, fear, or feeling overwhelmed as that is not appealing.

Then one day it hit me. Or Jesus hit me. Either way, it was necessary. Choosing Jesus is a relationship. AND relationships are hard and real, and sometimes real hard. So why would I fake that? 

My heart was good. I wanted everyone to have, believe, and experience the fullness of life that I have only found in Jesus. But I wrongly believed that if my relationship wasn’t good all the time, well then, who would want that?!? 

Every relationship that I have and every relationship I watch as an outsider, I see a common thread between us.  The more we love and share, the closer we get with that person- the more likely we are to experience ups and downs, hard times, and friction. Not all the time. In fact, little of the time in comparison. But emotions happen. We are human and messy, and hence, messy humans.

There is no one I love more than Jesus. If I rub shoulders with Him daily then there are bound to be some highs and lows, right? He is going to refine my rough edges and cause good friction with me that I don't always receive with butterflies, unicorns, rainbows, and skipping. So I’ve come to the realization that if there weren’t some array of emotions, well then I am probably only loving Jesus from a distance and not really doing life in relationship with Him.