Scary Scary, Missionary!
The most mystical place in my childhood was a far off mission field. My heroes were and are, those that put aside comfort and security and go places most won’t even imagine. From time to time, these amazing people take breaks from their labors and returned home to visit churches, bringing news of successes and challenges. Mesmerized by their adventures, while daunted by their bravery, I lived in fear that God would try and send me. I prayed deals. “I’ll be the best Christian ever, just don’t ask me to do that!”
Years went by and maturity happened. One day as I went about living and serving, it occurred that all my worries had been in vain. Here I was in the center of God’s will in middle class America. Then I was sad. Maybe God saw what I kept hidden. The sum of me was a heart full of fear, a will incapable of changing the world, and a life just barely qualifying as Christian. No wonder He hadn’t asked me, I was useless…… But, long before, I determined to make satan sorry my feet hit the floor. So I continued in the little things of everyday life.
I have always kept a Bible on my desk at school. For many years it was between bookends with textbooks, manuals and other resources I needed at my fingertips. The age of technology brought less need for hardcover, so the time came when my Bible was the last book standing, and so, I laid it on my desk. Students put things on top of it or used it as a paper weight. One morning I took a moment, held my Bible and explained, “This is my Bible. It goes where I go. It is God’s Word and it is Holy. Please don’t put your things on it, or under it.” I didn’t tell anyone they must agree, just comply. The Bible was a children’s version with pictures. I allowed any child that wished to handle my Bible and I answered questions when asked. One day, a little fellow asked if I would take him to church. He wanted to know about this Holy God I spoke of. There is only one answer to such a question. “YES!”
Appropriate measures were taken and a mission field was born. Miles of tire tread, gallons of fuel, smiling faces serving food, camp fees paid, and acres of dirty church carpet later, a noisy ministry is alive and well way beyond the walls of a church in central Arkansas. God’s call came in the voices of children and many answered “YES!”
This past Wednesday night I grabbed a children’s Bible off a shelf in the classroom where 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders meet. I usually read from the app on my phone, but this night I didn’t. Quietly, one child said, “I don’t have a Bible, but I read the one in my classroom.” A student was so determined to hear from God, that he sought an obscure Bible in a schoolroom full of literature designed to appeal to him.
Then I heard the voice of the LORD saying, “Who shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” Isaiah 6:8
The mission field, a place in great need of Christ’s example and message, is so close you can feel its heartbeat. Pray for it, wait for it and then scream, “YES!!!!!!”
Love,
Gretchen
P.S. I am thankful for a young and faithful teacher that kept a Bible in her classroom and the Gideons that provided it, and on Thursday morning, a young man received a Bible of his very own, along with an age appropriate devotional to feed his hungry soul. God is good.