An Unusually Missionary Day

I am sitting in the airport in Milwaukee waiting to fly out to Denver for some meetings. This is not a normal day in the missionary life. Usually, I am laboring away on campus, meeting up with students for coffee, to throw a Frisbee, or to talk about our Lord. I find myself excited with this change of pace and the travel. Something in my heart loves to travel; to sit in airport terminals and think, pray, read, and write. There is nothing quite like it. But there seems to be a little bit more attached to this trip.
On the bus this morning on the way to the airport it hit me. I received a message on my voicemail from the person picking me up at the airport and she proceeded to share three other names of people that she was picking up at the same time. I grew extremely excited hearing each of the names mentioned. They were some of my best friends, men that I have known for years and that have influenced my life in many ways. I speak with most of these men on a semi-regular basis, but at the thought of seeing my missionary brothers and good friends my heart was seized with joy!
In the missionary life (probably in life in general), we don’t always get what we want. We don’t always live around the people we wish we did. The word missionary means, “one who is sent.” Sent where? Sometimes it seems that this means to be sent away from our family and friends. At least, this has been somewhat of my experience of being a missionary. But there is no room for sadness, nor is it required. I don’t look at my life as what I have given up, but what I have gained. In the Christian life, we are asked to submit everything to the penetrating life of Christ…EVERYTHING, but we will GAIN EVEN MORE! This is the beauty of the missionary call! Yes, I am far from family and old friends, but when are paths do cross, the joy is inexpressible (as you probably can gather from my joyful but still vague post!)
I will close with this quote on friendship and brotherhood from the great Bishop of Hippo from the 4th Century, St. Augustine:
“What drew me closest to my brothers was the delight of chatting and laughing together; of showing our affection for one another by kindly services; of reading together from books that spoke of pleasant things; …of joking together amicably; of disputing now and then but without resentment, as one is wont to do with himself; of awakening by rare contest the pleasure of being one in mind; of mutually instructing one another; of longing for the absent one, and tasting joy at his return. We loved each other with all our hearts, and these marks of friendship that were shown on our faces, by our voices, in our eyes and a thousand other ways were among us like ardent flames that fused our souls together, and of many made but one.”