Saturday, July 14, 2018

Tomorrow

In less than 12 hours we will be on our way to Madison, WI. The 2017-2018 S.T.A.G.E year has passed quickly and our summer mission trip is now upon us.  As I am sitting here attempting to fit everything into my bag, load up the van, and work on finalizing details of the trip I can't help but be grateful for all of the support, encouragement, and guidance I have received since beginning this job in October.  (I was an English major for some time in college until I realized that I am no good at it, so please excuse all grammatical errors)

During a sermon at my previous church in Ann Arbor, our pastor read a prayer by Sir Frances Drake titled "Disturb Us, Lord." The first time I heard this it struck me and I have spoken about it since during STAGE (The story of his life is pivotal for this poem so look it up). It is even hanging on my refrigerator at home. It says,

"Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true,
Because we dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wilder seas
here storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars

We ask you to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push back the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

This we ask in the name of our Captain,
Who is Jesus Christ."

My hope for this trip is that we are nudged and even disturbed by God. It is so easy to be complicit in our life. We wake up, go to work or school, get home and do the same thing over and over again. May we be disturbed to do what is right, not only when it is comfortable, but more so when it is uncomfortable. May we strive to do what is right and not necessarily what is easy, and may we show who Jesus is not only through words but through actions.

It is not easy to leave home for a week. It is not easy to leave behind our routine, family, and friends. It is not easy to spend time with 24 other people, but when did Jesus ever say that following him would be easy.

As a S.T.A.G.E. community, we value building relationships with others, helping surrounding communities and organizations, and living out our faith as Christ lived his life. This means that we will ask the difficult questions, interact with those we don't agree with, and take a step out into faith knowing that the Holy Spirit will guide us.

I hope that all who read this will follow along with us on our journey during this trip and beyond. Please keep us fervently in your prayers.

-Matt

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