This morning, I rise at the break of dawn to a house of
sleeping loved-ones. I make my way to the kitchen, attempt a Latte with the
new-fangled espresso machine, and find my perch on the front porch swing.
Coffee in hand, I am awed by the serine beauty around me. The maple trees are
filled with a chorus of birds singing, as their leaves filter the young sun’s
rays. The horse on the far hill also seems to be enjoying the morning delights
as he flicks his tail to and fro as if dancing to nature’s music. A red-necked
hummingbird chooses his breakfast-nectar from a myriad of colorful flowers on
the porch steps. Rising above a layer of wispy clouds, the blue mountains ahead
of me create a heavenly background for this morning tranquility.
Such an environment seems the perfect setting for beginning
the enormous task of mental processing. If only the peace and order of
Tennessee’s natural beauty could be quickly internalized without process. But
transitioning from the tropics of heavily trafficked Ibadan, Nigeria to East
Tennessee is a physical, mental, and emotional process, so process I must.
The last few weeks have indeed entailed a tumult of emotion.
Saying goodbye to beloved students, co-workers, and friends who have become
like family was extremely difficult for me—not to mention the beautiful
children at Jesus Kids. Thankfully, the
pain was slightly ameliorated when my sister and friend—Crystal and
Cristina—came for a visit two weeks ago. I so enjoyed getting to introduce them
to my ACA family as well as a bit of Nigerian culture. I’ve been beyond blessed
to enjoy three visits from friends and family during my stay in Nigeria—my
friend Caroline Rose, my parents, and now my sister! What a beautiful
privilege.
Events of the last couple of weeks included many going-away
parties: two hosted by students, one at NAMPAK (South African compound), one
prayer and praise send-off at school, and one all-staff send-off. Each was
extremely meaningful and emotional. There’s nothing like final goodbye’s to
make you feel loved—and boy do I feel loved. Sadly, the disorder that my
college friends dubbed “emotional constipation” continues to plague me—which
simply means that instead of the natural process of tears flowing from my eyes,
all of the emotion gets clogged in my head, chest, and stomach, producing some
serious physical pain and sporadic moanings and groanings. It’s a real
difficulty.
Some of the hardest goodbyes were to those students into
whom I have poured my heart, whether through counseling chats, class discussions,
or discipleship club. This morning, though, God offered some encouragement
through John 1 where I read,
“Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he
looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples
heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.”
Though we don’t
know exactly how long John has been preaching and discipling before Jesus
came, we can reasonably assume that he had invested plenty of his time and
heart into these two disciples. What amazed me was how quick John was to point
them to Jesus and release them to His care. It’s amazing to be because it’s so
contrary to my natural inclination. My disordered affection causes me to want
to hold onto, claim protection over, and be the ultimate help to those I claim
to love. Perhaps that’s why goodbyes are so hard for me. But John corrects my
faulty impulse. True love, true discipleship requires giving over those we love
to Jesus. Ultimately, they must not be our disciples, our children, our friends,
our students, but HIS. Clinging
demonstrates not only a lack of true love for them, but a lack of trust in the
one in whose care we are to leave them.
Indeed, change such as I’m experiencing truly tests one’s trust and
reveals any flaw or misdirection in one’s love. Through it, I pray along with
David, “Search me oh God, and know my
heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in
me, and lead me in the way of everlasting forever. Amen.” (Ps 139)
This transition
will test my level of trust and stretch my faith in new ways. Next month I head
off to Phoenix, Arizona where I will join old friends in habitation and
profession. I’ll be teaching 9th Grade Humane Letters and 6th
Grade History at Trivium Preparatory Academy and living with several super
college friends. I’m looking forward to the new adventures ahead, but am not
unaware of the impending inevitable challenges as I reintegrate into American
culture.
Questions
continue to swirl in my head: How do I hold on to what I’ve learned in the past
three years without haughtily isolating myself from those God will place in my
life? How can I continue to live in the
new faith that God has given me while living now is such a different
environment? How can I best serve and impact the American church with the
experiences and perspective that God has given me while in Nigeria? My own
processing capabilities seem too limited when faced with such questions.
So as I sit on
my porch swing, observing His glory and inhaling His grace, contemplating my
future and my past, I resolve not look inward for answers, order, and peace,
but to look to Him—the Logos, the creator of this order and beauty that I
behold, the Alpha and Omega. To Him I present my supplication: “…lead me in the way of everlasting.”