It isn't very often here at Learning to Live in His Grace that I get a chance to write about anything of real substance, so I am ecstatic to steal Megan and Patrick's story! The ways that God has worked in their lives to prepare them for their journey, and the work that He is now preparing to do through them is incredible, so without further ado....
Our friends from our former small group Tom and Adrienne, invited us over to their place for dinner, to hear a presentation from Adriennes' sister Megan and her husband Patrick, about their upcoming mission to Japan. I was prepared for your run of the mill mission spiel, but I was not prepared to hear this young couple tell us that, because of the nature of Japanese culture, they are permanently relocating to Japan, to create long term relationships with Japanese people, and find innovative, culturally sensitive, and relational ways, to show the love of Jesus to people, and THEN, be able to introduce them to Jesus. Megan shared with us that she has been called to missions since she was thirteen, and Patrick informed her about his heart for Japan on their first date, so she would know that it would be a waste of time to pursue the relationship further if she was opposed to this life vision. Due to Patrick's experience with martial arts and time in Japan through his military service, he is uniquely equipped with a love for and knowledge of Japanese culture, and Megan's teaching experience and heart for women have led her to a program called Tea and Talk, where she creates relationships with Japanese women, while drinking tea and working with them on their English. In Japan, Megan will continue Tea and Talk, while Patrick will reach Japanese people through Fight Church. His vision is to create a safe place for people to express who they are, and explore that through martial arts, in an individually repressive culture, while sharing the love of Jesus.
Megan and Patrick showed level headed realism about the challenges before them, without ever losing the glow of passion for the work that God has given them. They let us know that because of intense respect and reverence for their ancestors, and a culture that enforces homoginy through social mores, only one percent of one percent of Japanese profess Christ as their Savior, and those who do are often ostracized! Lance and I were amazed by hearing about how God brought Megan and Patrick together as life partners and teammates with a shared passion and vision. We also loved how their unique life experiences up to this time have so clearly prepared them for the path ahead. Sometimes how God is working in your own life can seem vague, but when you see another perspective, it becomes so evident that His hand is in everything!
My bible study partner and I have recently been involved in an exploratory study of our spiritual gifts, and many of the issues with which I had been wrestling, came up in conversation as Patrick unknowingly reassured me that our spiritual gifts come to us in the form of our passions, and because they are so deeply ingrained in the way that God made us, they often don't even seem like gifts to us. God was reassuring me, through Patrick, that all you have to do is use whatever God gave you, for His glory. It doesn't always come as a revelation or accompanied by great fanfare. So, in that way too, God's hand was evident our being there to meet them, and we left feeling incredibly blessed by the conversation, as well as the opportunity to pray for Megan and Patrick's mission with World Venture, contribute financially when we are able (as they have to raise their salaries forever, since they will be full time missionaries!), and send them letters and care packages, with our children's involvement, once they are in Japan. They asked us to pray about these things for three days, which we did, and I am always incredibly moved by the power of praying hand in hand out loud with my husband!
I am so excited about the wonderful things that God has in store, and I just had to share it with you. If you feel, after prayerful consideration, that you would like to hear more about this mission, or contribute in one of the above ways that I mentioned, please let me know, and I will hook you up with Megan and Patrick! If this is not a mission that you are called to be involved in at this time, that's great! There are so many ways for each of us to use our gifts! I hope you are inspired that God is doing great work, out loud and behind the scenes.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Saturday, September 5, 2015
of excess fat
I know some of you probably don't think I'm qualified to say anything about being fat. When I recently started my journey to better health, many people told me I am not fat enough to worry about it, but, as a formerly mostly thin person, and a person who has recently struggled, I have some observations from both sides of the spectrum. During the past two years, since I had my son, I have made no progress in shedding the weight, I have experienced struggles with hormone imbalances that have intensified my difficulty, and while my BMI has never gone to unhealthy extremes, my abdominal size put me at risk for health problems, I have wanted to cry about not feeling beautiful. I have battled stress and emotional eating. I have felt that style is more about dressing to minimize the appearance of my fat, than actually enjoying clothes that reflect who I am. What surprised me though, is that there were times, when I felt my new curves were beautiful, and what I hated most was not just about my appearance, but my growing struggles with fatigue, weakness, and not being able to have the command over my body that I use to enjoy. It was absolutely not ok for me to allow myself to continue down this unhealthy path.
I have noticed among women a certain chasm of shame, a divide that is magnified over the Internet. Women struggling with their weight and attempting to embrace their beauty within their bodies, unintentionally shame thin women out of their own feeling of being judged. Thin women and heavy women have dug their heels in on opposing trenches, when we should in fact be supporting one another. Statistics show that at one time or another, almost all women experience body image dissatisfaction. I have known thin women, whose bodies I have envied, to find out that they suffered terrible battles of their own with body image and food. Every person has struggles, but being heavy is a vulnerability that is worn on the outside as well as within, while many bear their struggles in secrecy. I have a friend, who I truly believe to be beautiful on the outside as well as within, who recently received some appalling and cruel remarks about some photos she posted on social media of herself enjoying time on the beach. She has carried a child, her body is strong, and yet she has struggled with weight issues. She deserves be proud of what her body is capable of and it's beautiful attributes without unnecessary hurt. It is absolutely not ok to make a person feel devalued and ridiculed because of their body, and when people do this, it betrays a far darker issue in themselves than a bit of excess body weight. The bible says that each of us was created in God's image and our value is based on our identity in him, so it is simply unbiblical to define and demean another in that way. And yet I feel there is an undue pressure, in the name of body acceptance, to embrace unhealth. God loves us exactly as we are, but that does not mean he wants us to stay there. There is so much fear and stigma around weight, that I have often felt that I could not encourage a sister in Christ to better health in love, for fear of putting them on the defensive. God made our bodies, and cares deeply about them. The bible has a lot to say about our self care. As with any issue with which we may struggle, weather it be addiction, lust, temper (me!), or anything not of God that has control over us, we should not say, this is the way I am, I must accept it. We must believe that through Christ, we can truly do hard things. I have heard many people put up as a shield legitimate health challenges that make losing weight difficult, as a reason to settle in to unhealthy habit and sedentary lifestyle.
No, we should not feel pressure to look like air brushed bikini models for the vanity of society. Yes, we should absolutely love the bodies God gave us, no matter where we are in our journey. We should embrace the uniqueness of our body types, but when I see a sister who has given up because the journey is hard, I want to be able to say to her friend to friend, God says we are going to encounter hardship in all forms, and when weight interferes with a person's ability to enjoy the abundant life that God gave us to enjoy in the magnificent creation of our bodies, and interferes with our ability to serve our families and others as God asks of us, then it grieves me. He makes impossible things possible, and in him we can have hope. We need not stand on opposite sides and judge one another, but uplift and encourage, and not be afraid to speak truth, and help one another create better habits for health, energy, and abundance.
I have noticed among women a certain chasm of shame, a divide that is magnified over the Internet. Women struggling with their weight and attempting to embrace their beauty within their bodies, unintentionally shame thin women out of their own feeling of being judged. Thin women and heavy women have dug their heels in on opposing trenches, when we should in fact be supporting one another. Statistics show that at one time or another, almost all women experience body image dissatisfaction. I have known thin women, whose bodies I have envied, to find out that they suffered terrible battles of their own with body image and food. Every person has struggles, but being heavy is a vulnerability that is worn on the outside as well as within, while many bear their struggles in secrecy. I have a friend, who I truly believe to be beautiful on the outside as well as within, who recently received some appalling and cruel remarks about some photos she posted on social media of herself enjoying time on the beach. She has carried a child, her body is strong, and yet she has struggled with weight issues. She deserves be proud of what her body is capable of and it's beautiful attributes without unnecessary hurt. It is absolutely not ok to make a person feel devalued and ridiculed because of their body, and when people do this, it betrays a far darker issue in themselves than a bit of excess body weight. The bible says that each of us was created in God's image and our value is based on our identity in him, so it is simply unbiblical to define and demean another in that way. And yet I feel there is an undue pressure, in the name of body acceptance, to embrace unhealth. God loves us exactly as we are, but that does not mean he wants us to stay there. There is so much fear and stigma around weight, that I have often felt that I could not encourage a sister in Christ to better health in love, for fear of putting them on the defensive. God made our bodies, and cares deeply about them. The bible has a lot to say about our self care. As with any issue with which we may struggle, weather it be addiction, lust, temper (me!), or anything not of God that has control over us, we should not say, this is the way I am, I must accept it. We must believe that through Christ, we can truly do hard things. I have heard many people put up as a shield legitimate health challenges that make losing weight difficult, as a reason to settle in to unhealthy habit and sedentary lifestyle.
No, we should not feel pressure to look like air brushed bikini models for the vanity of society. Yes, we should absolutely love the bodies God gave us, no matter where we are in our journey. We should embrace the uniqueness of our body types, but when I see a sister who has given up because the journey is hard, I want to be able to say to her friend to friend, God says we are going to encounter hardship in all forms, and when weight interferes with a person's ability to enjoy the abundant life that God gave us to enjoy in the magnificent creation of our bodies, and interferes with our ability to serve our families and others as God asks of us, then it grieves me. He makes impossible things possible, and in him we can have hope. We need not stand on opposite sides and judge one another, but uplift and encourage, and not be afraid to speak truth, and help one another create better habits for health, energy, and abundance.
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