Skip to main content

Starting Block

 


On Your Mark. Get Set. Go. 

A decision to leave your host country can take minutes to months to decide ‘yes' to go or ‘no' to stay. The decision may or may not be yours to make depending on the circumstances. But no matter how a decision is made, the starting block of re-entry is where you now find yourself.

 

Often when the decision has been made to leave your host country waves of guilt and insecurity can arise and knock you down. Leaving you to question and even doubt your decision. 

 

"Did we make the right decision?" 

"What have we done!?" 

"Should we stay?" 

"What are we going to do?"

"What are people going to say?"

 

Feeling guilty and insecure can hit you and knock you over from the reactions and responses of other people about the decision made. And also from your own inner struggles with leaving friends, teammates, and ministry work. 


What a heavy load to carry, friend. Don't let this become a stumbling block in 'getting out of the gate.' Care for yourself by asking for help.


Remember the goal. 



 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...