Tasks vs. Relationships
I’ve always valued productivity. I mean, who doesn’t? The satisfying checking off of the to-do-list? But somewhere along the line, maybe with the arrival of my niece about 12 years ago, God taught me that people and relationships are worth more than tasks.
Sometimes it’s still a hard balance for me. But, I know as I look back over my time here in PNG that my relational investment and impact far outweigh what I have accomplished project-wise.
My weeks are full of variety- both tasks and people. On Tuesday alone I facilitated a discussion group of five churches in a conversation about missionary care, then I had a call with my own pit crew, then I finished an article about free video-making software for our team to use, then I gathered a group of ladies together to pray for a visiting church planter, then I updated the prayer requests on our digital prayer map. Then, after work, I went home to write letters to supporters followed by hosting a Bible Study on Hebrews.
He Often Withdrew
I’ve been reading (and when I say I’ve been reading, I mean I started a book in January and haven’t been able to read it except for a few pages since), the Ruthless Elimination of Hurryby John Mark Comer. He talks about “hurry sickness” being defined as the “malaise in which a person feels chronically short of time, and so tends to perform every task faster and to get flustered when encountering any kind of delay.” I’d say I have this “hurry sickness”, but I’m even further burdened by it, because it’s hard for me to do anything fast!
As I close out my time here before my home assignment, please pray I would have clarity and confidence in what to take on and what to let go of. Comer points out that “Jesus often withdrew. He frequently got away. He made a point to sneak off to pray on a regular basis . . . In Luke’s gospel in particular, you can chart Jesus’ life along two axis points: the busier . . . Jesus became, the more he withdrew to his quiet place to pray. Usually for us it’s the exact opposite. When we get over busy and life is hectic and people are vying for our time, the quiet place is the first thing to go rather than our first go to. The first thing we lose is unhurried time to just sit with God in the quiet. To pray. Read a psalm. Take an internal inventory.”
Finish this Season Well
I want to be a person who practices this, seeking the Lord even in the busiest of times, but it’s counter cultural and counter intuitive. As I work to pack up parts of my house and finish all my work projects, sometimes it’s hard to not skip over my daily time with Jesus at the start of the day. But how detrimental that would be!
Comer makes the case that one of the things that happens when we give up our time with Jesus is “We feel an undercurrent of anxiety that rarely, if ever goes away. This sense that we’re always behind, always playing catch up, never done.” So please pray that I will continue to make the time (and even more of it!) as I aim to finish well.
I was able to run a ladies’ retreat last month that was a huge blessing to me. Love these ladies and the way they shared their hearts and the things the Lord revealed to them in the time set apart.
Studying God’s Word together with other ladies here has been a blessing throughout the years. This term we’re studying Hebrews. I’ve found it particularly challenging, but we’ve had a lot of laughs too. Grateful to have this group as part of my week.
It seems like every time I try to have a worship night outside around the campfire, it rains! This time it started raining just five minutes after I got the fire started! I offered a mini-retreat activity for four ladies to choose and reflect on their path for this past season. I was a bit unsure about having it as a stand-alone activity for a random group of ladies, but it ended up being a really meaningful time of sharing.
My friends, the Stanleys, were out of the tribe a bit longer than expected, because their son broke his arm. This gave me the opportunity to spend more time with them though! I was able to have them over for a “sausages” (I said “hot dogs,” but apparently that’s not right if you’re from the UK and the Netherlands!) and S’mores night. Another time they very kindly took me to town to go second-handing. You can see the store in the background of the top photo. Rows upon rows of clothes. I was looking for some warmer clothes for my upcoming trip . . .
What’s next?
I have quite a few projects I’d like to finish up before going on home assignment in April. I’m working on updating the statistics about our work here in a Power Point Template our team can use for presentations. It shares how many Active Church Planting works we have and how many missionaries etc. If you’re interested in the answers, we can get together while I’m home and I’ll share it with you!
I’m also updating the digital photo gallery I put together in 2020 of photos our team can use in their presentations. I’d like to update an article I sent out to churches about mailing packages here. There are two short videos I’d like to finish that are close to done, and a longer one I’d like to start and finish about Discipleship- we don’t just go in and present the gospel, but we work with the believers in the baby church to help them become mature and self-sustaining as a thriving church with its own elders.
I’m finishing up my 18th Missionary Care Discussion Group next week. It’s been a fabulous group! Please pray they can put into action what they’ve learned about Missionary Care.
It’s that time of year again! When I have to plant all my glass jar plants in actual dirt and move them outside.
