Rest Volume# 13 Issue # 3 Date: January 2017

“What have you been doing recently to rest?” a good friend asked me as means of catching up after a long time a part.  The question plagued me as much as it always has.  What do I do to rest? For recreation? In the pursuit of being recreated into the image of Christ?  When I first moved overseas the question of rest seemed so simple.  Anytime I had to interact in a foreign language, or with strange culture around me it was work.  A day of rest mean speaking only English and hanging out with only westerners.  As the years marched on and I became more comfortable with my new context, this began to feel like an unnecessary dichotomy, especially when some of my local friends were also believers and spending time with them was an equal encouragement to my heart.  Those clear distinctions became blurred and time with locals was fun and relaxing.  For a while I wondered if the answer lay in spending time with fellow followers rejoicing in the good news, compared to time with non-believers sharing it. 

The question of how I rest in the midst of life overseas had to once again take a drastic shift when I started working full time in order to obtain a visa, especially in recent years at the baby food factory.  Working more than a 40 hour week, much of it spent doing tasks and jobs that are way beyond my level of knowledge or expertise, often left me feeling drained.  Yet day after day I found myself sitting alone at the computer planning and writing operational procedures for the factory.  In the evenings I struggled with not having spent any time actually dedicated to my real job, the one that I have been called and sent me here to do.  Soon the after work hours became of flurry of activity as well, filled up with appointments for lunch or tea with different local friends and neighbours.  To the extreme that when my friend asked the pointed question on rest, I stumbled and stuttered to come up with a suitable response.  It shouldn’t create such an internal struggle to answer a simple question on how am I living faithfully in light of one of the Lord’s commands… and yet it did.  Oh sure, my roommate and I often watch a TV show before we wearily dragged ourselves to bed each night, but that is not the sort of jubilatory rest we are called to partake of as a foretaste of His perfect future.  I was missing something, and I was too exhausted to even realize it.

In august my body started to revolt, with more and more sore days.  For the first several weeks I chalked it up to bad weather and more rainy days then we are used to in the desert.  But by mid-October I had to admit to myself and others that my arthritis had flared up.  My joints were in constant pain, I started using my cane to get around and a good night’s sleep seem and elusive myth.  Thankfully the Lord broke through my own stubbornness to just keep pushing full steam, and instead I felt lead to write to a select group of friends and mentors asking  them to come a long side me in dedicated prayer for both a renewal of my health and strength, but also for direction on how best to move forward.   My old body simply cannot handle the pace I have been keeping. 

Thanks to their intercession and wise counsel, it has been decided that for now the best course of action might be to seek a sort of medical sabbatical.  A time off for work and ministry in order to regain my strength, both physical, but also spiritually.  A time of rest, learning afresh what that word was intended to mean, and how I can build it into the rhythms of my daily life.  I will be spending the next several months in Thailand, both meeting with doctors, trying new medications, talking through potential surgery options all to help meet health needs, and hopefully see my flare-up subside.  More importantly though it will also be an extended time for my own heart to seek His face.

Please be sure to hear me correctly.  I am not saying I am done working overseas or seeing the gospel made known to the U people.  That is still very much the desire of my heart, and even in a slightly weakened state I still believe Father can chose to use me to make His name great.  But I do need to spend time rethinking how to do that well.  Can my job at the factory be tweaked or cut to part time? Is it worth finding a less demanding job (15-20 hours a week) elsewhere in this province?  How does leaning to answer my friends question about seeking real biblical rest in the midst of a busy schedule lead to longevity overseas?