A few months ago we had the joy of welcoming R.P., one of Lakewood’s Global Partners, home for furlough. It was a special time for her to reconnect with family, friends, and her church community. While here she took time to reflect on what it means to rest, be renewed, and trust in God’s faithfulness—and she has graciously shared some of those thoughts with all of us, her Lakewood family, below.
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31
Transitions take time and require energy. Any move to a new place comes with changes; finding a new grocery store, auto shop, school, finding a new community, etc. and in our case doing these things in a new language and culture as well. So after a few years of what often felt like one new thing after another, weary was likely a word you could have used to describe me as I packed my bag for home assignment. A friend described it to me as your mind being like a computer, with a bunch of tabs open. One tab for language, one for culture, one for work, and the list goes on. My laptop will eventually notify me that an open tab is using “significant energy.” Home assignment is a designated time for workers to close some of those tabs for a time, specifically the ones using significant energy, and to rest and reconnect.
I was so refreshed to be back with my church family and enjoyed singing with brothers and sisters in Christ in my first language again. I loved being back in the church building that I grew up in after a long time away. I was also encouraged and renewed hearing what God is doing in our church, and how He is working in people’s lives. It was a reminder to me that He is working in all areas of the world. It was helpful to take time away from the country I live in and the work I was doing there, to reflect on all God has done, to be grateful, and to get away with Him and rest a while (Mark 6:31-33). Being away and resting for a while was also a helpful reminder to me that God is the one doing the work. I’m so thankful He allows me to be a part of it, but the work He is doing started long before I got to the country, and will continue long after. He is God, the one that does not grow tired. I’m so encouraged by these verses. That God, the Lord everlasting, who created all, does not grow weary. I’m thankful for the body of Christ, that sent me out, and provided me with a space to rest and be renewed for the work God has called me to. I’m thankful that He gives us strength, as we abide in his presence. As my home assignment came to an end and I packed my bags again to return, I felt refreshed and rested, after having a designated time to reconnect with my church family, and after time resting in Him. Praise be to God for giving us the body of Christ, to spur one another on (Hebrews 10:24), and for giving strength to the weary as we hope in Him!
Written by R.P.
Global Partner