Road Trips & Margins

These last six weeks have been full of doing in-person care, so I have been on the road. I do love a good road trip to see new places and to meet new people.

I was debriefings a family of with four teenagers and asked them, “How many beds do you think you’ll sleep in before heading back to their host country?” They thought for a moment and one of the teens came up with maybe 10 beds and the rest of the siblings agreed. I shared with them that in that past week, Wednesday to Wednesday, I had slept in four beds.

This constant change in mobility can start to cause tiredness and possibly weariness. I use to always work steadily until it was time to go and then stress out and hurry to pack everything and leave on time. Then I would usually come back hitting the ground running. This would usually lead to weariness and not just a normal tiredness.

As a member care caregiver, I have taught many people about planning margin around both ends of when there is travel whether one small trip, a big trip, or constant travel like when on furlough and going around to churches to share and seeing family and friends in order to have a life-giving rhythm. These last six weeks, I have been intentional in creating margin on both sides of each one of my travels which has been such a life-giving rhythm. It has given me space to be able to stay in the present and then time to pivot to the next thing in front of me to put my hand too.

Do you intentionally create margin on both ends of your travel?

I am packing my suitcase once again, getting ready to provide care for two different families and this quote comes to my mind.

“Packing your suitcase for a trip and packing up a life are

distinctly different. In the one, you put clothes and necessities,

in the other, you pack your heart. Exposed and

vulnerable, your heart sits in the suitcase and even

the most benign action can damage it.”

--Worlds Apart A Third Culture Kid Journey

Comments

October Newsletter

SHANNON’S CORNER The Saga Continues… The trip to Malaysia consisted of a two-day spiritual retreat with the theme of ‘Come Away With Me’ and a six-day conference with about 230 missionaries who serve in some aspect of translating the Scriptures. One of the many people who I met was a missionary who served in Cameroon for many years and now is in a new role. As he was sharing, most his words were very negative and depressive. I encouraged him to sign up for a time of prayer and care. At the end of the retreat, this missionary shared with me that he did have a session and I could see that his whole countenance changed, and he was hopeful. His new word he used to describe where he was now is ‘delightful.’ Our time there was creating a safe space for these missionaries to have a place to share what they are struggling with and to connect with Jesus. One missionary is at a crossroads in her life. Another finds himself in the midst of betrayal. A missionary is in a new role as a caregi...

You Are Not A Role

You are not your job title. You are not your productivity. You are not only the caretaker, the leader, the helper, the strong one. Those may be things you do —beautifully, even sacrificially—but they are not the whole story of who you are. Your worth is not defined by your output. Your identity is not limited to your roles. Coaching begins when we ask: What would it look like to live from that truer self, even just a little more today?

Reactivity

Transition is like putting a complex and challenging puzzle together. Some of the pieces seem like and even look like they fit in a particular place, so you continue until you get stuck. You become frustrated and annoyed because you have spent all this time and energy into putting this section of the puzzle together and now you must find the piece that is in the wrong place. Reactivity becomes one more piece of complexity that we face in transition. It is how we manage our reactivity to know whether we are connecting or disconnecting in our relationships. Let’s discover what is reactivity. The working definition from Meriam Webster Dictionary is done in immediate response to something especially without thinking or planning. Reactivity is another core relational dynamic that can disconnect us with ourselves, with others, and with God, our Immanuel. It can become a numbing agent that blocks our connection and awareness to God’s presence within us and in our...

Shannon's Corner

Search This Blog