For those of us that are going back to our normal lives after our time abroad.. what’s next? Having been in Zambia for only a month I find that I dread going back to a typical life of work, church, and maybe the local youth group. I want to live above and beyond like we have since training camp. Some of you may have everything figured out after this; finishing college, serving in church, going on the World Race or YWAM, and so on. You will have many other challenges where mapped out goals can really help, but I believe that the line “Take me deeper than my feet have ever wandered..” will be more applicable to my life back home than on this trip. Granted I’ve experienced things on this trip that were really out of my comfort zone, but they essentially fell in my lap or we had ‘set times’ for them. When I go back home getting out of my comfort zone will require me to avidly search for these things! So if I truly want to ‘Go deeper than my feet have wandered’ I’ll need to mean it!! When I have an opportunity to pray for somebody back home, I generally come up with some reason not to, normally being fear or pride based. Here in Zambia the thought of going to pray for somebody’s limp, a business, or loving on the countless kids in the street are easy almost, I don’t feel like I have anything to lose. I know people that I see in my stateside life need love and prayer too.. but what do I have to lose at home that I don’t have here? To continue to be the same person I am in Africa, in Texas, or wherever God leads me will call for some change. What happens next is totally in my control. Will I follow the Holy Spirit’s gentle call to love anyone, anywhere? John 10:10 says, “The devil comes to steal kill and destroy, but I have come to give abundant life!”. Who doesn’t want an abundant life? I love the song that says, “There’s no shame in looking like a fool, letting go of what I can’t keep to take a hold of You”. Taking a hold of Jesus and receiving an abundant life is motivating yes, but living a life of mediocrity scares me way more than potentially making a fool of myself for Him.
