Have you ever had a suitcase that was so packed that you thought the zipper might burst or the seam explode? Squished down and pressed to make it all fit? Well, that’s what packing for Cuba looks like. We take everything we think we might need so that when we head for the foothills of the mountains or rumble through the ruts of some dusty small town road, we have all our little accoutrements that make our lives just a bit more comfortable: breathable fishing shirts and lightweight hiking pants that make the tropics tolerable for the latitude challenged. Nice things, lots of stuff…some for them and some for us. I love a full suitcase ‘cause it means I have more stuff to give away in the countryside or the urban apartments. The stuff I take might satisfy an unknown need for a day or a week or a nice pair of shoes-for a year. But, oh man, what I get to bring back in my empty suitcase lasts immeasurably longer than a week or a year.
We often go on missions trips wondering how we might be of help, not considering how we might be helped. How we might show God to our new friends and not considering how new friends mights show how much God loves us. How a prayer warrior with less than me prays more than me and for me. How I change forever by changing cultures for a short while. God sends us in with a full suitcase but he requires us to empty it both figuratively and literally as we make room for so much more. We have to unpack and discard and give away and then we are filled up and repacked and alive. We go to strange places and strange cultures and take our stuff in full suitcases but we leave all that behind and return with full hearts and blessed spirits. Away from the distractions of work and the daily grind of life, we find some peace as we read and think and pray. A faraway place seems to always make God a lot closer.
Go on a mission trip-take a full suitcase. Empty it. Bring home a full heart.
Be bold, try it. Leave some stuff behind and get filled up instead.
Blessings
Dr. Rick