It happens all the time – on the flight home from the big trip, on the second (or third!) day after the wedding ceremony, in the middle of the third night being home with the newborn, the morning after winning the big game – the letdown. After emotions and energy have built for days, weeks, months, years or even decades, that which was looked forward to with great expectations is suddenly in the rearview…hopefully, we’ve had time to absorb and enjoy the event before the earth continues rocking along around the sun and life, as we once knew it, continues on in the new normal.
We were somewhere over Greenland, sipping ginger ale, when it hit.
Our initial foray into Thailand was incredible. We had been laying plans for this trip for months, dreaming about this trip for years. On top of our visionary trip into the area around Bangkok, we also jetted down to Malaysia in order to meet with some folks who are doing some awesome work out east (more on that in a future post). The excitement of traveling to SE Asia, introducing my pastor to friends we’ve had for eight years and getting to see, first-hand, the ministry we will be carrying out for what will be years to come and meeting with men and women who desperately want the gospel had me both worshiping the Lord and already beginning to lay out groundwork for the trips we are already taking in 2016, as well as future work on into the coming years. Bouts of travel tummy and immigration checkpoints, airline headaches and jet-lag were easily overcome while our feet were on that soil, the excitement of new work and future endeavors coursing through my veins.
And then it was time to head home. Back to our loved ones, to supporters and friends anxious to hear of our experiences, and back to the blessed grind of life as we know it. And the expected letdown.
We were somewhere over Greenland, sipping ginger ale, when it hit.
The letdown is called numerous things – “camp high,” “a light bout of spiritual depression,” “back to reality,” but whatever you call it, it hits and it hits pretty hard. What’s not talked about is how it can be a catalyst for forward movement, a momentary struggle in a fight that is moving ever-forward.
The reality is, it doesn’t last forever; in fact, it really doesn’t last that long. The trick is seeing this letdown for what it is and continuing to seek the Lord and his vision that we get to play a part in.
As I made my way back into the office, back into meetings here in the States, back into the daily routines and rhythms of life, the letdown has actually caused a surge in thinking about what the future may hold for our organization, and where the Lord is leading.
Looking at where things currently stand and where things could potentially go, there is such great excitement to see what the Lord does. In meeting with headmasters and teachers about working with students in Thailand, the thought hit me, “We could bring a team over here every two weeks, to just one of these sites, and have enough work to cover a full year!” And that’s just at one of the numerous sites we saw. Not even accounting for how our organization may be used in other areas of Thailand, in other countries in SE Asia, in targeting more specific people groups to reach with the Good News of Christ Jesus and his glorious gospel!
There is a lot of work to be done; we’re ready to do a lot of work!
We were somewhere over Greenland, sipping ginger ale, when it hit.
We had made it home when the Lord really encouraged and we hit back.
The Lord is doing incredible things among the nations, things that he spoke about in his Word and that we, as his people, get to be a part of…roles that are innate to our status as his children to move the ball forward and proclaim the good tidings of our loving Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Eternal hope amidst grinding opposition. Joy that surpasses even lifetimes of persecution. Life that has already conquered death. Light that darkness cannot contain, breaking through in every single facet of life, as we know it.
Letdowns happen…but the uplifting arms of our good Father continue to propel us forward, proclaiming his glory to the ends of the earth!
Be a part of that movement continuing to go forward; the name of Jesus Christ being made great, from your home to the furthest reaches of the globe.