This week I’ve been posting a series on how I became a full-time missionary to Western Europe. Click for “Part 1: My Backstory.”
Leaving church as I became an adult was never a consideration for me. Be it boring or plain or virtually absent of people my age, I still wanted to be in God’s house, worship Him, and hear teaching from the Bible. By this time my parents didn’t seem to care either way if I went or not. So, unlike many of my youth group friends, I continued to go to church.
My lifestyle was what I would call “good citizen”: not diving into the vices, trying to be a good person, avoiding being a bad witness. I eventually got married, and we were both employed in secular work. Because we came from a poorer background, making money and living the good life became a priority.
After many years and too many irrelevant details, we found ourselves doing well enough to move from our impoverished hometown to one of the most desirable locations in the States. Our business was thriving, so we could work from home—for just a few hours a week. We lived moments from the ocean, went on clothes shopping trips, and ate regularly at high-cuisine restaurants. Time was plentiful, so we could even pursue extravagant hobbies.
Throughout this time we regularly attended church, had daily quiet times, and even became highly involved as lay assistants in the local ministry. I would not say we were far away from God, nor were we absentmindedly going through religious habits, and our marriage was sound. At this point, you’re probably thinking, what’s so wrong with this scenario?
The simple answer is that we were not seeking God first. It was all about what we wanted first, what we thought would make us happy, without consulting God or following His lead. While we were externally doing good things in the Kingdom, internally we were first priority.
We were very happy for quite some time with this arrangement. Everything seemed to be going great, and this type of lifestyle is one that most people in the States aspire to live. But one day, while we were lounging in the gorgeous weather, my spouse simply said, “I think we’re meant to be missionaries in Western Europe one day.” There was a huge silence before my reply of “What?!” Everything was going great. Where did this come from? “I know it’s not tomorrow, or next month, but someday…” My internal thought was, hmph, we’ll see about that. And I filed it away for a few years.
Years later, things were still going great with the business and church, but we were beginning to find that following every selfish whim wasn’t very fulfilling. Nothing was wrong externally, but this lifestyle we were encouraged to pursue just wasn’t what we thought it would be. It was far more empty than we had perceived. Despite all the fun we had and the overabundance of possessions, all of it became ashes in my mouth because, while they were nice blessings, it wasn’t the best of what God wanted for me, or for us. Most importantly, it took our focus off of God and, in the end, that doesn’t work.
At the same time God began some sequences to bring us back down to earth, and we started to see the past few years for what they were: a waste and a mess. As we asked God first for our next steps, He slowly revealed His plans for us to become missionaries, something we never, ever thought we’d do.
Next post: Part 3, Learning the Ropes
Related posts:
-
How I Became a Missionary, Part 3: Learning the Ropes
How I Became a Missionary, Part 4: You’re Nuts
How I Became a Missionary, Part 5: “No Plan B” and Conquering By Continuing
