Comfort Junkie

As I prepare to leave the country in less than a week now, it seems that time is of the essence. That's quite ironic, considering that to some Africans, time is more of a nuisance than a necessity. With Johannesburg being a rather large city, I am not sure how the concept of time is regarded there, but I know that in Kenya, relationships are more important than appointments or schedules. Right now I am debating if I even need to take my watch with me! Haha.

Okay, well, this will be a week of saying goodbyes. Thursday I am going to PC to say goodbye to friends and to a large part of my 'spiritual family' there. Saturday I will say goodbye to Ryan (atleast in person), Sunday I will say goodbye to First Baptist Spartanburg and to Dad's side of the family, and mom's family somewhere in between all of that. Rather than this all being burdensome, I am really praying that God will show me the JOY in this...how much these people care for me and will continue to pray for me while I am away following God's lead to another place for a short time. Rather than thinking about how much I will miss Ryan and my family, I need to think about what an opportunity this is for all of us to grow while separated.

You know, as much of a "comfort junkie" as I am sometimes, I have learned that I am most willing to be used and most in tune with the Lord when I am completely out of my comfort zone and just really putting myself out in an unfamiliar place full of unfamiliar people...it makes me look to Him first. For any of you who have ever been away from home in a third world country, you know exactly what I mean. But even though it's always a somewhat hard, anxiety-filled adjustment for me, I always go back to this non-comfort zone. I think it really boils down to the fact that when we are not in our own comfortable culture, we really begin to see the comfort that Christ offers us. Not a mushy comfort...but comfort in the form of spiritual encouragement and fire in our bones that make us burn for Him only. That said, I am really looking forward to the JOY of not being comfortable and in learning more about the REAL comfort of Christ.