Before you ignore this message as generic or "junk
mail," let me assure you that it is intended especially for you. I'll
explain more in a minute, but the bottom line is that I want to connect with
the missionary ladies that my church supports, (and I'm throwing in a few
personal friends as well). I want to do more than just an occasional "I'm
praying for you" email, but more involved and personal communication would
require time and oversight on my part that I'm not sure I could manage. I don't
want to choose just one or two of you; I want to include you all, so from a
practical standpoint, a group email seems the best way to do that. I hope you
don't mind.
A few of you I know very well; others I know more casually.
Some of you I have met for only a brief time, and some of you I have never met.
Regardless of the level of past contact, my heart is inclined toward you. I
love you for what you are doing in God's work. I love you for your heart to
serve God. I love you because of the challenges I know you face and the burdens
I know you carry. I realize you are in different situations. Some of you serve
more or less at home, while most of you are far from home and far from family
and friends. While I do not minimize the difficulty of any ministry, my heart
is especially burdened for those of you who are further removed from "normal"
life.
For those of you who don't really know me, I'll share some
of my story along the way, but the nutshell version is that I've been to
college, worked, served one term in Mexico, went back to college, taught
Christian school for many years, and now work in a secular job. And, yes, I've
had enough time to do all that, because I am approaching the half-century mark.
Before I went to Mexico, lots of friends and people at my
church assured me they would write to me. I think my mom is the only person who
ever did. It's easier to communicate now than it used to be, but the saying is
still mostly true: "Out of sight, out of mind." I'm sure that you
must get some communication, but I also get the feeling that most of it is
fairly shallow and much of probably goes to the men. My heart is especially
interested in you as ladies. We are different from men. You knew that, right?
Our needs are different, and there is a craving for connection. We can be
especially prone to loneliness, and I know that ministry is often a lonely
place, regardless of geographic location or number of people around.
You may be wondering if my communication goal is some grand
idea or new project that I am going to start and then quickly abandon. I don't
think so. Let me tell you why. God has been gradually leading me toward this
for a long time, and the pieces just finally fell into place. I'm not sure I
can explain all of it. Having spent time on the mission field, I have a heart
for missions. Various aspects of my life, in particular living alone and years
of health struggles, have helped me to learn compassion for others. Although
I'm no longer in full-time service, that was my life for many years, and I am
comfortable with those kinds of friends. I am a writer to some extent. (I've
written a devotional book for people with chronic illness and I also do a
blog.) I believe that God has gifted me with the ability to study His Word and
share it with others, and He has given me time to spend in His Word that many
people do not have.
Those are kind of the factual reasons, but additionally there
are the stirrings in my heart. I have wanted to become more involved with our
missionaries and have considered how I might do that. I have felt the lack of
being in full-time ministry and have often wished I could do more. Because of
my health issues, I have had to discontinue some service that I have previously
done in my church and community, and I have wondered what I can replace that
with. God has gradually helped me to see and accept that perhaps my ministry
will be more from the confines of my recliner and my laptop and coming from
inside my house rather than something public. And I often find myself lonely
and disconnected. Other than attending church, Facebook tends to be my best
connection with people, and that isn't very satisfying. So here I am, wanting
to connect and wanting to share with people, and there you are, wishing someone
would connect and share with you. Through a few missionary speakers lately, God
has helped to put all these pieces together and direct me, I believe, into this
kind of ministry.
It's new, and I haven't figured it all out yet, but at this
point my goal is to send at least one or two emails a month with the particular
goal of showing my love and support for you and of encouraging you in the Lord.
I understand if for whatever reason you are not interested in that. I don't want
to give you something else to read if you already feel overwhelmed. Or maybe
you feel like you are in a well-nourished situation where you don't need such
an outreach. I don't want to push myself on anyone, but I do want to offer this
as my ministry to you and to God.
Let me wrap this up with a few practical things. If you
prefer not to receive these emails, just reply and let me know. It's okay. If
you have an email address that is better than the one I've used, let me know
that, and I'll gladly update. Please don't feel like you have to write back or
respond. I don't want to create a burden or obligation for you. But if you want
to respond, I welcome the opportunity to hear from you and be able to initiate
some more personal communication. Be aware that this is a group email, so if
you reply, reply just to me and not to everyone. Finally, when I shared this
idea with our missionary speaker last evening, he suggested I create an archive
in case you want an easy way to go back and see previous emails. This is found
at www.dearmissionarylady.blogspot.com. While my primary goal is to minister to
you ladies with whom I have a special connection, I don't mind if you want to
share with others.
While the purpose of this first letter was primarily to
introduce myself and the concept of what I want to do, I do want to share
something from God's Word. Let me relate it to the little bit of my story that
I have shared, which is that I am not doing what I trained for vocationally,
nor am I involved in ministry to the extent that I have been in the past.
Sometimes life takes unexpected turns and leaves us far from where we thought
we would ever be or what we thought we would ever do. Proverbs 16:9 says,
"The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps." And
aren't we glad He does? Regardless of how things might seem in the moment, we
know when we stop to consider that there is no way we would ever change the
path that God has chosen for us. Even with unexpected twists and turns, with
difficult climbs, and sometimes painful falls, the path that God has chosen is
the very best.
Remember, what you do today matters for eternity.
In Christ's love,
Peggy HoltOpen Door Baptist Church
Lebanon, PA
No comments:
Post a Comment