A view of Honolulu
On our last night of orientation, we gathered in the chapel for a focus on commitment and prayer. Come morning, we’d be leaving for our islands and homes for the next ten months. I joined in the circle of my new “family” headed to Majuro and saw in their eyes a reflection of my own feelings. Fear. Excitement. Worry. Anticipation. From across the circle, a fellow SM looked at me and smiled. I smiled back, and our exchange seemed to be an acknowledgment: we’re really doing this. After months of waiting and days of preparation meetings, we were leaving behind familiarity and comfort with a certain determination toward an uncertain outcome. And that got me thinking: what do I want from all of this? At the end of ten months, what will I expect to have happened?
To close the meeting, the student missionaries huddled together in the center of the room. Before the closing prayer, a song was given as a gift to us for our upcoming journey. I don’t remember the lyrics, but a line in the chorus talked about the end of it all.
As it was being sung, I decided that I wasn’t going to make any expectations. I wouldn’t specify myself or my plans to that. But one thing was sure—I would hope that at the end of it all, people would know that I loved God and that I loved them.
Live a Life of Love
No comments:
Post a Comment