The safest place you can be is in the sky. Clouds below, sun and infinity above. As much as I don’t really care for flying, there are some comforting things about it. When you are in the air, you are in no-man’s-land, the world-between-the-worlds. You are not where you were, and you are not where you are going. You don’t have to let go of the past or face the future. You can just simply be imprisoned in the present, high above whatever is going on in the world. As soon as you land, you are committed to joining the world again, ready or not.
The challenge of joining the American world again can be really hard. I remember subconsciously raising my legs off the floor in a futile attempt to resist the plane’s descent into the bright lights of Honolulu. America was too fast, too loud, too bright. I wasn’t ready for it yet. For several months afterward, there was a big hole in my heart for the simplicity of my old island life, and I did not feel like I belonged at home. Sometimes I would look up at the evening sky, and the big, puffy summer clouds reminded me of island clouds. And then sometimes I wished I could just live in the clouds–no need for decisions, commitments, new things, or missing old things. Yes, the safest place is in the sky, but it’s not the best place. If you stay in the world-between-the-worlds forever, even your my mind, you’ll miss what God has for you next. It takes awhile, but eventually you come to realize that the best is not behind you–it’s ahead. Because God is already there. God is not finished with you yet. He still has plans for you, and He has not forgotten you. He will walk through this landing with you, and plant your feet on a firm foundation.
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorA few returned AVS missionaries share their "Re-Entry" journey. Share your re-entry journey! Categories
All
|