A Life in Exile

I had to get the calculator out. I’m not good at math, and the more the annual clock of time changes, the harder it is for me to figure out the distance between that time and this. What is that time? My years on the field in full-time mission service. What is this? Everything after that. How many years is it for me? Fifteen. I sucked in a breath when the calculator gave the total. Wow. How can it be?

Time flies whether you want it to or not.

I used to calculate everything in my life by the country in which I was living at the time. I have lived in five and knew when we had furloughs in the States, so it was easy to remember dates and events based on those factors. Now, after fifteen years in the same place, I’m lost in a vortex of timelessness. It’s a painful place to live when you want to remember.

I’m writing this post on a snowy day in Tennessee, thankful I have no place I have to go, but it makes me long for the sun and warmth of places I’ve lived in the past. In my melancholy mood, I have just a few words of advice for those of you serving overseas or in other settings, so I appreciate your indulgence.

Use your time wisely.

In our twenty years of service, we never stayed longer than six years in one place. Some of our exits were fast and completely unplanned, while others were more organized and purposeful. The lesson we learned early in our career was: You don’t know if you will have tomorrow, so work while you can.

Jesus knew his time was limited before the cross.  

We must do the works of him who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work.

John 9:4 CSB

We are not gifted with the luxury of seeing the future, but we do know that Satan works hard to limit the advance of the Kingdom. Wars, disasters, ill health, family trials, and direct persecution can cut short our time among a certain people group. How are you using your days to move forward in his purposes? Even the effort we put into language learning is important to that goal, so work hard not to get bogged down in the mundane and allow it to hinder your desire to stay the course in service. Press on in doing good, sharing the gospel, and living as light in the darkness until the door shuts.

Make the most of your youthful years.

Having served for several decades, I know the difference in my energy level during my 20s and 30s as compared to my mid-forties and 50s. Even reading about a typical day on the field, as I wrote about them in letters to my mother, makes me exhausted!

Solomon the Wise, said it well: “So remember your Creator in the days of your youth” (Ecclesiastes 12:1), because as he reminds us, “youth and the prime of life are fleeting” (11:10b).

Use these days of energy and vigor to learn, read, get out, and pour into the lives of others. This is your moment, and when you look back, it will seem just that—a moment in time. So, don’t neglect to do all you can while you can.

I’m not saying that the Lord doesn’t use us after forty, but as I’ve written in my books, there are seasons in service, and ministry does change as we age. It is still fruitful and fulfilling, but it looks different. You cannot gain back the time if squandered.

Life is short.

This has been a big year for me, as I’ve retired, turned sixty, and learned to say no to some things in order to focus on others. The aging process brings natural reflection, and as I think about how many years have now passed since my time on the field, it seems surreal. Yet, God’s Word is clear:

Our lives last seventy years or, if we are strong, eighty years. Even the best of them are struggle and sorrow; indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away… Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.

Psalm 90:10, 12

What you are experiencing this day in your life and ministry is a God-thing. He who called you is faithful to work in and through you for his purposes in your life and in the lives of those you serve. Rest in that today. Take heart in that today. Persevere, stay strong, serve well. Press on toward the goal!

Grace and Peace

If you missed the last Mission Monday post, click HERE. For other thoughts on Time, click HERE or HERE.