And we are enjoying a harvest, a bumper crop, right now, in the middle of March! It is wet and cold, but the harvest is coming along quite well. The problem is that this month the harvest is……….potholes.
The harvest looks impressive, popping up everywhere. I do believe we even have potholes in our potholes! And just when you think the harvest has slowed down, a fresh round of potholes begins. I simply try to avoid the worst, knowing it is impossible to avoid them all.
The size? Awesome. We’ve seen some that work their way across the entire road. It is rather difficult to avoid those. The depth? Incredible. If forced to, we could use some for water baptism services. (Disclaimer–slight exaggerations are possible!)
I don’t know where they come from. One day the road is relatively level (relative to Moldovan standards–bounces no stronger than a 3.1 earthquake). The next day, I feel like I’m driving through an airfield that was just plastered with cluster bombs from an air bombing raid. A little water and ice makes the bottom drop right out beneath the street.
Our roads are a wonderful picture of our lives. Every season, we are assaulted by factors that tempt to put holes in Christian faith, into our marriages, or into our personal lives. Little pockets of worry grow into enormous potholes of doubt. Small cracks of irritation widen into chasms of anger. Slight hurts in relationships blossom into deep hurts or bitterness.
Reality is this–the holes will come. Our lives will face pressure to crack and crumble. Small fissures will threaten to widen. We will be tempted to ignore the hole, the crack, and the abscess.
Don’t.
For if you do, your life with look like the roads of Moldova, requiring massive work. Patch the small holes when they come. Tend to the little things, i.e., your time with Christ, your fellowship with friends, and feeding your soul. Jesus warned to watch out for “yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees,” the little yeast of legalism and religiosity that threatens to creep into our lives. He knew that a little thing could turn into a mountain.
Watch your spiritual life and doctrine closely. Tend to your relationships. Make the phone call to your friend. Write the letter to your parent. Lay aside the work and play with your kids or grandkids. Forgive. Forget. Grow.
Missions have forced open some holes in my life. It has reduced me to a wonderful level of incompetence. It has made me face huge expectations from others. It has moved my from my comfort zone. And it has forced me to start patching some of the holes and cracks that have been exposed.
What holes are you facing? You can’t keep driving around them all. Deal with them.
Bouncing through life in Moldova,
Andy Raatz