Nehemiah 1: 10-11 “They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. 11 Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”
It took being uprooted from my comfortable, easy life to realize that feeling at home anywhere is possible. My husband and I left Texas five years ago on a journey that took us to two different states within our first year of marriage. As I bounced between new cities and doctors' offices to treat a digestive disease that completely wrecked my body, I wondered about God’s will. The pain of the unknown and unfamiliar brought a strength that came only in my own surrender. In Tennessee, I fought and questioned. In the empty desert of New Mexico, I allowed God to erase barriers of judgment and I befriended people who were nothing like me. I had found my new “home”. Talking to someone unlike me has always forced me out of my comfort zone. But when God brings you through something, you don’t keep it to yourself.
Fast forward two years and once again it was time to answer God’s call and continue our journey. We moved to my husband’s hometown of Harlingen. I was less than impressed with this deep south Texas town when I visited during our early dating days. In fact, after a two week visit, I swore I’d never call a place like this home.
Well, I made plans and God laughed. It seems that home is exactly what Harlingen would become, now that my heart was ready for it. I can now see the beauty behind this unique culture and the place that I have been called to serve. This is a place with so much need — a mission field with countless souls ripe for the taking.
Our city needs hungry hearts who are willing to settle down and reach out to someone different. As I teach seventh grade in an at-risk middle school, I will reach out and be proud of my mission field. As I encounter the challenges of the next generation and a lack of parental involvement, I will seek the hungry hearts and show them God’s love. When bad things happen, or I feel homesick for an easier way of life, I will remember my mother’s words: “God doesn’t prevent bad things from happening, but he will bring us through those things and use them for his good.” You see, it isn’t the restaurants, the activities, or the landscape that make a city beautiful. It is the open hearts ready to build community with a neighbor and solidify God’s purpose in this mission field we call “home”.
“Lord, make us like Nehemiah. Help us seek opportunities to fulfill your purpose in our lives right where we are. Let us start by being content to call this place our home. We pray for our city, for the people that we encounter daily, and for our ability to love those that are different from us. Allow us to open our eyes to see need and want to help you fill it by serving and caring for those that make us step out of our comfort zone. Amen."
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