A Missionary In Ordinary Ways

A few years ago, I asked God for a mission statement. You know, something that would give me a higher purpose than just ordinary living. I love my life and I was in a pretty good place with my relationship with Christ but I felt...boring, unimportant, dispassionate, just bleh. I had friends that were being called to be missionaries in foreign countries, to eradicate homelessness in our city and be great bible teachers. And then there was me. Just a wife and mom in a small north Georgia town with a regular job. Don't get me wrong, I love all of those things, but they didn't feel important, they just felt...ordinary.

So I assumed I must be missing what God truly had for me, because I just knew I was supposed to be doing something great. Something special. something extraordinary. I knew the way to find out what that very special, very exciting, very passionate and extraordinary mission was to be was to pray, so I did. Fervently, consistently, faithfully.

I waited expectantly. I started to get excited knowing that with my persistence, God would surely answer with something great like, "you are going to write an amazing novel that will be a best seller and cause revival in our land," or "you are going to be a screen writer and be able to minister to the very lost and dark people in the entertainment industry with your deep and spiritually moving stories."

One day, God clearly gave me my mission statement.

"Your mission is to be a missionary in ordinary ways, in ordinary places to ordinary people. In doing this, you will have an extraordinary and eternal impact on the lives of those who would otherwise not be touched."

Can I be honest? I was really disappointed. I mean really? Be an ordinary missionary? In ordinary places? I don't get to write a great novel or screenplay or become a missionary in Paris (If I am dreaming about where to be a missionary, it might as well be someplace awesome right?)

Now before you go judging me for not being excited about the mission directly given from the Lord God Almighty, be honest. If someone told you your mission in life was to be ordinary would you be excited?

So I did what any logical person would do. I questioned the never failing, all powerful, all knowing Creator of the universe, "Really? Are you sure? I mean, I think I could do a lot more than that. I am a pretty good writer and I am a great public speaker. And I love You! Can't I do something more important than being an ordinary person?"

But God, you know that amazing Father who only knows how to do what is absolute best for us, does not operate on logic, well, not tiny finite human logic anyways. He operates with a mind that can  understand concepts like eternity, black holes, the space time continuum. He knows where the snow is stored in summer and knows what's at the end of space. He thought up things like DNA, curly hair, blue eyes, ocean waves, blow fish, vultures and llamas.

So after a few more sessions of my self righteous questioning of God, I finally just sat still and allowed God to let this new mission statement sink in. "Okay God, I am ready. Show me this mission you have for me."

In that quiet place, I heard God say that my mission was to serve in ordinary places and ways, not to be ordinary. My job was to be quietly extraordinary, secretly extraordinary. What you do in public, for public praise, the praise itself will be your reward. But what you do in private, only for the Lord to see and know, you will be praised in public and for eternity.

God clarified to me that what He wanted from me was truly amazing and special. He was telling me to show His love not to the masses through a best selling novel or movie; and not to the children in Africa or Paris. He has told me to love the overlooked. The next door neighbor that may seem like she has it all together, but is actually deeply hurting and is scared to death that she is just doing it all wrong. He asked me to be a friend to the girl at work who is pessimistic and critical or the one who is way too needy.

When I opened my eyes to what God was saying, it was like scales fell from my eyes. I suddenly realized that checking out at the grocery store was a very ordinary thing and maybe I could have an eternal impact on that grocery clerk in those few minutes. I starting praying for those moments to happen. I started asking God to break open her heart in the 3 minutes we were together at the check out stand and give me words that would speak living water to her.

The funny thing is words that speak living water don't always sound so spiritual. I rarely ask if they know Jesus or if they go to church. Usually God prompts me to ask about their story. Something innocent thing like, "Wow, you have an interesting name, is there a story behind it?"

Or asking the waiter that is serving my family at dinner, "So what's your story? Are you going to school, providing for your family, taking some time off to figure out life?"

At work, the ordinary ways can be as simple as always saying hi and asking, "How was your weekend?" and truly listening to the answer.

At home, it's making fried rice for dinner because that is what my daughter asked for. It's consistently telling my cousin how impressed I am with the man he has become, how blessed we are to have him live with us and that we are praying for God's perfect mate for him. It's giving my husband a little kiss or pat on his butt every time I walk by.

Truthfully, when I stopped looking at ordinary ways as not important, I started to see every little opportunity I have in every aspect of my life to show the unconditional, unfailing and ever important love of Christ to a whole lot of people. Ordinary people. The people that are normally overlooked because, well, they are just like me. And who am I to 'help' someone who is in the exact same boat I am in?

I am the person that God has chosen to do the job, so that alone qualifies me.

God has given me a mission and I am choosing to obey.

Expect the extraordinary. I have a feeling there will be a lot of it around here.