Just about the same as the SAHM in the US. The End.
Ok, that’s not completely true. Obviously there are many little differences,
like my Wal-Mart sells dried smashed pig faces and yours doesn’t. (Squash that envy, friends.) And because we
are so glamorous we have dozens of people taking our pictures and plaguing us
with questions every time we go out. IT
IS SO FUN. (Please pick up on my sarcasm here.)
But other than that, and an extra language in my tool-belt
(or half of one, WHATEVER) it really looks a lot the same. And sometimes I’m disappointed – I was
expecting more excitement. (The kind that doesn’t involve bodily fluids.) And
sometimes I’m ashamed – that’s not why we were sent here. I could do laundry,
homeschool, and be introverted in the US. And sometimes I’m jealous – Brett is all
learning an unwritten language and making all sorts of thrilling discoveries
(right, babe?) and I’m… cooking dinner. From scratch. Again. Because I’ve
finally resigned myself to the fact that families need to eat like ev.er.y.day. And there’s no frozen pizza on this side of
the world. Or packaged tortillas.
So what does my average day look like? I get up in the
morning a little before the kids, or try to, for a few quiet minutes to read
the Word with my brain intact and to beg for grace. Then, bam!, the day is my
face like a mother whose kid was nearly hit by a motorbike (to give a
completely non-personal example.) It’s something like a cross between a dance cardio
aerobic routine and a juggling lesson peppered with “teachable moments” where I
struggle to move beyond behavior modification to heart attitudes while cleaning
the baby’s spit-up and speaking in another language to our helper.
And at the end of the day I look at my cold, un-drunk cup of coffee and think, “I haven’t even been out
of my house all day, my language level is declining rapidly now that I am
homeschooling instead of studying, and I haven’t invited my neighbor over in
months. What am I doing here??? What
should I be doing here?”
There are so many points that go into the answer to this
question, but here’s the one that has been on my mind the last few weeks: I just
need to be faithful in the small things. Most likely we are not called to
completely throw out our daily routine. We are still supposed to cook and eat,
teach and clean, go to work and get the car washed. We can and should do all of
these things for God’s glory, trusting for His grace to supply all of our needs
and enjoying His presence in our lives through it all.
BUT part of doing all
these things “for God’s glory” consists in living our normal, daily lives very
intentionally “on mission.” On mission
to display and proclaim the gospel to our children, the closest little
disciples we will ever have. On mission to train them to obey the commands of
God that we teach them. On mission to open our lives to relationships with the
people all around us who need an ambassador to represent Jesus’ ministry of
reconciliation to them. On mission to
live transparent and vulnerable lives before them, not holding them at arm’s
length, but inviting them into our mess and likewise entering into their
struggles and pain.
This is no different overseas from being “at home” in the
US. I’d wager no one is knocking on your
door asking what your hope for eternity is, and neither is anyone doing that on
this side of the world. At least not at my house. And as for intentionally discipling our
children, thanks to VPNs we have Facebook as a blessing/distraction over here,
too.
So… faithfulness in
the small things. It means putting Facebook/Instagram/Twitter down and dealing
with my son’s reason for falling apart instead of just sending him to time-out
or taking away his video. It means
speaking to the insecurity that lurks behind my daughter’s meltdown over math
rather than threatening dire consequences if she doesn’t get herself under
control “right now” so we can move on with our homeschool. It means studying
language while feeding the baby rather than just browsing Pinterest. It means taking a big gulp and calling my
friend up to invite her over to learn to bake the cake she was interested in
and then preparing how to explain to her that my faith is more than a set of
the “rules” she is so inquisitive about.
Even if it means that I lose some of my precious down time. It means
choosing to engage in conversation with the stylist when I get I get my hair
cut rather than just zoning out and enjoying a quiet moment. (I know, for some
of you that is like breathing, but for an introvert this is BIG STUFF.)
In other words, moving overseas didn’t make me extroverted, brave,
extra energetic, or more patient, and it certainly didn’t make me less busy
with daily life so that I find myself with extra time to reach out because I
have nothing else to do. So there you
have it – my life looks pretty much like the homeschool mom in the US. Cram
packed with survival that can be aimlessly surfed to the end of the day or
infused with intentionality so that I am living “on mission.” This is true whether
I’m “just” cooking dinner or embarking on an adventure to see my friends in the
village or answering my friends’ questions about my faith.
What about you? What are the little things that comprise
“living on mission” in your life currently? Does it mean taking your kids out
to play in the front yard instead of in the back behind a fence? Or even going to
the park? Does it mean taking a break from Facebook for lent? Inviting the
neighbors or a co-worker over for a casual cookout? Or tutoring refugees in
English twice a month?
Maybe whatever it is doesn’t seem “big” enough, but PRAISE GOD
that He does not despise the day of small beginnings and that He commends
faithfulness in the little things. (Zech. 4:10, Matt. 25:14-28) Whatever our
current situation in life, by God’s grace let’s intentionally live it out “on
mission!”
