Catch & Release

Yesterday was my sister's birthday, and it seems to be an occurrence every year that strikes at my heart wherever I am in the world. It is a reminder to me of home and of family and of those roots that can at times feel cut off when you are living the life of international relief and disaster response. As I was browsing through photos on my laptop today on my day off, it struck me the life I lead these days, and today it actually feels like a sacrifice.

Many times when I think and talk about what I do, I do not feel like I am making a sacrifice. Following where I feel the Lord moving me I get to see Him at work around me and in me. I have met incredible people and been a part of amazing work from the Philippines to Vanuatu to Nepal. I have made friends from all over the world. Just the other day a guy in my office said- 'You have friends posting on Facebook right now?'- and I laughed and said, well yea, I have friends all over the world not just in the US time zone. There is great fulfillment and many blessings involved when you are following God's call.

Recently, my life feels so transient though. The length of my assignments lately have been short- I've been in 3 countries outside of the US this year. My time in Vanuatu was only 2 months and my time in Nepal will only be 3 months. While a part of me loves the constant change, a part of me also desires longer relationships and connections to people and places. When I am in the field I miss home- but not in a sense of something that I can always return to- I miss a home that I walked away from a couple of years ago when I left my full time job and took my first contract in the field. A home where I had stability and friends and my own apartment and a church community. Now I feel like I walk in and out of people's lives on a constant basis.

Sometimes it feels a bit like fishing. You commit time in a place, waiting- casting your lines and you start to connect. You finally feel that line tug and you pull in a great fish, but just as soon as you do, it's time to return it to the water, setting it free and moving on - casting your line again.

As God continues to lead me, I know that I will be in different places for different amounts of time. It is not always going to be easy- sometimes the challenge may actually be staying longer than I have grown accustomed to, but I know that if it's God's will that I desire for my life, then whether the going is easy or the going is hard, He is with me and will guide me and grow me. Feeling the sting of home that is gone for now reminds me of the importance of investing in the place and the people that I am surrounded with, wherever I go, for whatever amount of time.

You may desire the 'adventure life' of traveling and being apart of a bigger version of the world than where you are now. You may be perfectly content in the stability of life where you are now. Wherever you are and whatever you're facing today, I challenge you to pray about where you are in God's will and what He may be asking you to do. I also challenge you to consider the people and the place surrounding you. Are you truly connecting and investing in what's around you?