Celebration: {Day 30} Becoming

Here in West Africa, we talk a lot about becoming.  (Actually, I think we talk about it a lot as a Mission.)

"Becoming relevant and useful instruments in a new context" - that's kind of our motto.  Which is great and all, but that's not really what I want to get into right now.

You see, before becoming relevant and useful we basically have to become...nothing.  For many of us, it's one of the most excruciatingly painful and humbling things we've experienced.

And yet, this becoming nothing process gives me the opportunity to depend on God in ways I might not have had to before.  It allows me to see Him work in ways I might not otherwise see.  So it's a gift.  It's grace.

Honestly, though, I hesitated to write this post, because in calling becoming nothing a gift, there's a danger.  You might come away with the impression that I've totally embraced all the difficulties, that I've bravely accepted all the struggles 'cause I know they're from the Lord.

Not true.

Some days I do.  Some days I push it all away, wanting some other more attractively wrapped gift.

But He doesn't change.  He never stops giving, never stops loving, never stops doing the good work He began in my life.

And I love Him for it.