I too, loaded up a car this week. We're loaded with beach gear, baby gear, homemade pies, salsa and every other type of food one could imagine. We are so full that we can barely fit ourselves in the car to drive! We are beach-bound and on the way to spend a week with our kids. It's a bit like the resident hall move-in. For I have prepared every imaginable item we could possibly need. I want my family to know I love them. I want to prepare and over-prepare for all their favorite things. It's my heart's desire to over-love these most dear to me. Just like the college move-in date, I have anticipated this trip for weeks. My husband has even been counting down the minutes via family text. It's been our JOY to prepare and today it was time to GO.
The GO for a new semester and a long-anticipated trip are somewhat the same. There is excitement. There is some nervousness as we wonder how things will turn out.
Are we ready?
What have I forgotten?
Will we get along?
Will my college student make friends?
Will these college professors like my kid?
Will he succeed in the college world?
But, the excitement is palatable. The air is alive with anticipation. For it is in the GO that the excitement exists. The GO is what makes our hearts beat fast, and feel giggly, and feel fresh and alive. It's the GO that gives us purpose and a destination.
There was another group who experienced the nerves and excitement of GO. This is what their leader told them:
"Don’t begin by traveling to some far-off place. And don’t try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Touch the untouchables. You have been treated generously, so live generously.
Don’t think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start. You don’t need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment, and all you need to keep that going is three meals a day. Travel light."
“When you knock on a door, be courteous in your greeting. If they welcome you, be gentle in your conversation. If they don’t welcome you, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way."
And don’t worry about what you’ll say or how you’ll say it. The right words will be there; the Spirit of your Father will supply the words." Matthew 10:6-20 excerpts (The Message)
We were made to Go. And we've got a Parent who has over-loved us and over-prepared us for what is ahead! We were made to get out of driveways, our comfortable routines and our safe environments. I believe we were made to pack up our cars and our lives with every good thing we've been given and find those who need those very items. God hasn't asked me or you to share what we do not have. He has only asked us to share what He's given us...all the things, gifts, abilities we have. In these words from Matthew, Jesus is giving the men closest to Him quite a send-off!! They are excited to Go. He is excited to send them.
But, we often read these words from the Bible and are so thankful that we weren't part of these twelve men. We seem relieved that we weren't asked to GO. But we are asked!
The exiting part of life is that we DO get to pack up, plan every detail, bake pies, hang curtains, haul boxes and help those around us. Every day someone is need of the same kind of love required to move into residence halls and to take a family vacation. That's what God is asking of us. Go to those in your world who need a touch, need a hand, need an ear. He will provide all we need, every word we speak. And it is the very best, most exhilarating experience for He is using us! The God of the universe is using my pie! He's using my hug! He's using my time! Oh, my goodness, let's GO!!!
