Beautiful Wings

 The kids and I sometimes sing the classic song, "One in the bed and the little one said, "Roll over!" Do you remember how that song goes? 

At the end of this counting song, the "little one" who keeps announcing that the others should roll over finds himself or herself all alone in the bed. I normally think that final verse is a triumphant declaration that the "little one" enjoys no longer sharing the bed with all the others. In McNeal, our staff often feels a little of that transition as the team "rolls over" one family after another to fields of service overseas. Our staff at the international headquarters in McNeal has welcomed an average of three families for the past several years. Families arrive in late August for orientation and most families complete their training within nine months. Some pilots are invited to complete additional training as a helicopter pilot once their fixed-wing training is complete.

Our family has been able to rejoice with three families each of the last two years as they completed training and raised the needed financial support to move to their field assignment overseas. We recently enjoyed a sermon from Acts 12 in which the church which Barnabas and Saul (Paul) served as teachers and leaders were given the instruction to send these men on God's mission, to bring the gospel to those who had not yet heard. The pastor recognized the hard task of investing in the life of another for the purpose of sending them to bear fruit somewhere else.  Every time another family becomes a part of our lives and leaves for another field of ministry, a part of our hearts travels with them.

This month, we celebrate the one year anniversary of dear friends arriving in the Philippines. We miss the Thursday morning playdates and deep conversations about parenting.  A few weeks before, another family arrived in Papua New Guinea to join five other families - all of whom completed training and began serving the field within the last three years. These are pilots and mechanics who worked side by side with David every day. These are moms who homeschooled their kindergarteners alongside Allison and cheered when Joelle learned to enjoy reading. These are the "best" friends with whom we celebrate birthdays in person now and then we let go and let them meet new best friends.

Each summer we let go and each fall we open our hearts again knowing that it will be worth the investment. It isn't easy being called to be a "sender", a trainer, a mentor. It isn't easy being a youth leader, a coach, a teacher, a parent, a pastor.  It would be easier to focus on the tasks of the training and leave out the part in which we share lives, dreams, faith, hope, and love. If we live like that, we will miss out on the rich privilege God has given us: to be part of his family, a temple made of living stones (1 Peter 2). If we close our hearts to the people God brings into ministry through training with Ethnos360 Aviation, we will miss the privilege of praying for these pilots and mechanics, their wives, their children. 

We are joining together in the spiritual war of advancing on enemy territory with the good news about freedom from sin and darkness.   David and I are reading with our kids through the book of Romans. In chapter 10, Paul writes, "But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?  And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”  Our teammates are traveling to places that are extremely difficult to reach by foot, but the fruit of their labor is still very beautiful. What a privilege to partner with them and encourage these families as we send them to bring good news so many can call on and believe in our Savior, Jesus.

So when the end of this year's training comes and we face another "roll over" of graduates in May and new families in August, we will still open our hearts and our homes to the people God sends through McNeal to the ends of the earth. Why? Because Jesus is worthy and we want to see "a great multitude that no one could number from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb". Together, we will worship Jesus who has been with us through every transition we have faced and has never left us singing alone.

Am I willing to be second?

Transition in life is hard. Few of us really enjoy change, do we? Sure, we thrive on diversity, seek out variety, wear three to five outfits in one day, but we rarely look for transition from what we find comfortable to something new. How many times have we "upgraded" our technology and struggled to adjust to the new system? Who has held onto a nasty old couch or recliner because it is so comfortable that you hate to throw it out?

I do not acclimate to change well. God has brought some wonderful changes into my life in the past eight years. It seems like a whirlwind of transition. I've been through job changes, change of marital status, multiple moves, new homes, new friends, new churches, new bosses, new state regulations and officials.  I'm sure you have experienced some of the same transition before. My husband once said I was adjusting well. I think he stopped saying that after the second move to a new state, new job, new church, new friends, new baby transition.

Can I be honest? The hardest part of transition is humility. Jesus says we must deny ourselves or, as the New Living Translation puts it, "turn from your selfish ways" (Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23).  Jesus is quoted identically in all three of those gospels,

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me."

The question I have to ask myself is "Am I willing to be second?" The difficult fact about following someone is that I don't decide what it is that I imitate or where I follow them. I don't get to be in charge. That doesn't fit with my opinion of myself and my wonderful ability to make decisions and get things done. I want to be the one to lead the pack, set the pace, and determine what will be accomplished, in what order, and by whom.  

Is that what I am commanded to deny? What about myself do I need to throw aside so I have the strength and grace to carry a cross?

Marriage is a good example. I am learning on a daily basis how much selfishness is revealed in my heart because I got married. The excuse that this person has to love me, serve me, care for my needs because they are family has been stripped away.  This person didn't "have" to do any of those things. My husband chooses to love me, serve me, and care for my needs every day. So do I return the sentiment?  How selfish am I to refuse to serve my husband, sacrifice my desires and needs for his, and expend my energy caring for him? Didn't I make a vow to do that?
It's despicable but it's true. There are plenty of days I don't want to love him because....

I don't want to serve him when I feel.... 

He doesn't deserve my concern and care when he.... Does it really matter? 

The truth is that I pledged "to have and to hold, to honor and to cherish, to love and to serve..." until death parts us from each other. There is no clause allowing me to abandon that covenant because I don't feel like it or he doesn't return the favor.

In our current transition, my struggle to adjust has centered around my rebellion against denying myself and taking up my cross.  It surprises me that the cross I don't want to bear is nothing dangerous or monumental. I struggle with the purpose to which Christ has called me, to serve. In this season of life, I am called to serve my husband and my family as a homemaker and wife. Is that so difficult? What is the challenge there?  Thoughts of these verses come to mind to correct my perspective a little.
Mark 10:45 "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
John 13:12-17
"12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. 17 Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them."

The challenge for me about serving my husband is rooted in my pride. Doing laundry, washing dishes, and cooking dinner on time seems like such a mundane, unimportant way to bring glory to God. I can't be impacting the Kingdom of God from the kitchen, can I? How can God use me to make disciples if I never leave the house? What if the only time I leave the house is to shop for groceries??

Who wants to follow that example?

The sermons we have heard in church over the last few weeks have focused on having a faith worth imitating. The apostle Paul exhorted the Corinthian church to "imitate me just as I imitate Christ" in 1 Corinthians 11:1. The ultimate goal is that the believers in Corinth would imitate Christ, but Paul was the visible example of who they were following, the imitation of Christ that those believers had experienced personally.

Who wants to follow someone whose imitation of Christ is most often experienced in cleaning bathrooms and washing uniforms, or whose hands are cracked from constantly being in dishwater? It is way more exciting to fix an airplane.  You might agree that it is extremely important to fly an airplane into a remote jungle village or through mountain ravines to rescue someone and transport them to the hospital. Nurses participate in saving lives on a daily basis!  Other people use business skills to provide their communities with basic necessities and job opportunities. Some people risk their lives just sharing the gospel message with a person of another religious background.

Those are all ways of serving. Why can't I serve in the adventurous areas?  I know that God has commanded all believers to make disciples. I just don't see how to make a disciple "as I am going" when the places I go to are so mundane and limited! A dear friend reminded me this is short sighted. As we look at each moment of being a Christ follower, we are also to look at the big picture of Heaven and realize that when you honor God with your life in the little details you are being a disciple. "The one who is faithful in a very little thing is also faithful in much; and the one who is unrighteous in a very little thing is also unrighteous in much." Luke 16:10 NASB

I knew when I made the decision to accept my husband's proposal of marriage that I would have to sacrifice my dreams of how I would serve in ministry. I also realized that marriage to my husband meant following where his ministry would lead. His ministry direction has always been different than mine. That does not mean we have been unable to serve together in certain ways. However, my husband's greatest spiritual gift is serving others to enable their gifts to thrive. It can be challenging to support and join in a ministry that is serving and supporting everyone else!  I am learning that the calling to serve often requires me to lay aside the ministry I wanted to accomplish in order to support and strengthen another person's ministry.  My husband is teaching me how to serve as he imitates Christ and how Christ served. Jesus Christ is teaching me how to submit to the will of the Father as I learn to serve my husband and help his ministry thrive (doing the dishes, cooking dinner, etc).

Will God enable me to follow Christ's example? I think my role as homemaker and wife may be more fitting to that calling than I want to admit. Can God bring women into my kitchen who need to see an example of imitating Christ's act of service and sacrificial love? Absolutely. Right now, I'm in the process of an attitude adjustment so I can be ready to accurately reflect that kind of humility. Today, I will bring glory to God as I learn to cheerfully submit to my role and perform my service, starting with cleaning the kitchen sink.  First thing tomorrow morning I will clean the public bathrooms in our event hall after a large group event. This may not be the glorious mission I envisioned God would call me to. I may have cried myself to sleep last night. But I am going to choose humility and gratitude for what Jesus sacrificed to be obedient to his Father, God, and thank him with my cleaning services. Who will join me?

Philippians 2:5-11
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Declaring the Glory of God

I've been reading and thinking about this piece of the Bible:

Psalm 19
For the choir director: A psalm of David.


1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
2 Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.
3 They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.
4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world.


God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
5 It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.
It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.
6 The sun rises at one end of the heavens
and follows its course to the other end.
Nothing can hide from its heat.

I've spent my whole life enjoying the benefit of the sun, moon, and stars. I used to lie on my back deck or out in the yard looking at the stars at night. I've gotten such a bad sunburn that people said I looked like a red lobster. I love the quote from a popular children's book "I love you to the moon and back." Who doesn't benefit from the ways the sun, moon, and stars illuminate our lives?

Have you ever thought about daily tasks which depend on light? In an age which benefits from electronic light sources, I think we have managed to lose sight of the light the sun, moon, and stars provide. The weekend before my birthday, our region had a lengthy power outage. No power, no street lights. There was nothing to diminish or distract from the light of the stars. Wow, they were gorgeous! My husband and I sat outside and gazed at the stars for a couple hours talking. There was little else to do without light by which we could see!

Psalm 19 states the heavens have a job to do, a message they proclaim day and night. The heavens have spent their entire existence doing what they were intended to do. Their impact has gone "throughout the world." Do you ever wish you had that kind of impact?

The second part of the psalm focuses on the sun's role in the heavens. "The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end. Nothing can hide from its heat." Living in the desert brings a constant reminder of the powerful heat the sun produces. I may hide inside my house with walls and blackout curtains to try and hide from its heat; the sun still relentlessly increases the temperature of my house while my air conditioning unit battles to reduce its effect. When I lived in Colorado, people would marvel at the deep snows that fell in the early spring. Yet, my family's house faced the south so our snow would melt quickly in the heat the sun produced.

The psalmist marvels at the heavens because they accomplish that for which they were designed. They do what they were created to do-declare the glory of God, their creator. Do you ever wonder why you exist or what purpose your life was given? Do you ever feel exhausted and discouraged? I've been there... I've felt depressed because I have spent so much energy and seen so little of my goals accomplished. I've wondered if I am worthless because I see no point in continuing the effort to live another day. But, I've begun to ponder, "Am I really pursuing the purpose for which I was given life? Is this what I was created to do?"

The author of this psalm makes it sound so simple: the heavens declare the glory of God, display his craftsmanship, and make him known. Is that all? Is that what every part of creation was designed to accomplish? Scientifically, we know a lot about life that biology, astronomy, and the other studies have discovered about how things work and how their functions interweave. Yet, there is something amazing about the simplicity of this purpose - to make God known. Is that the ultimate goal of all the intricate complexity and interactions of cells and microorganisms?

With singular focus, the sun follows its course across the heavens, burning and glowing intensely. Sound boring or mundane? Get up, go from point A to point B, and do the same thing over and over and over for years.... The author describes the sun's response to God vividly. The sun bursts forth with exuberance, radiant and confident, like a man who has tasted everything his heart desired and is ready to conquer any challenge. It rejoices with eager anticipation at the thought of another chance to run its course. Do you face your day with that attitude? I know I struggle to feel that way about another morning.

What do the sun, moon, and stars teach us about life? What can I learn from this descriptive imagery? I was created with purpose. God has a place for me in His world and a course to finish. God designed His world, His people to make him known. The heavens do this all day and night without speaking a word. Their mere existence and ability to complete their unique function proclaims the message, "God designed me to give light and heat!" Nothing and no one can hide from this message. Not even the North and South Pole. I have also begun to learn that I can accomplish my purpose with joy. I can face the repetition of my daily tasks with anticipation and eagerness. I was intended to let my life declare the glory of the one God who created me and gave me purpose! I believe this is as true for people as it is for the heavens. Do you?