Revolving doors

I grew up in a small town.  The group of people I started kindergarten with was almost identical to the group of people I graduated high school with.  Friendships we had when we reached adulthood were friendships we'd had for most of our lives.  The longevity of the friendships meant we'd shared many memorable experiences, we'd laughed together, we'd cried together, and we'd grown together, which added a depth to those relationships that only occurs with time.

I'd been warned before moving here that the relationships missionaries build are like a revolving door--missionaries are constantly building relationships with people who come into their lives, then leave as quickly as they came.  Though living for seven years in the transient Fairfax County, Virginia, prepared me for this a little, I'm not sure it's something I'll ever get used to.

Jesus' ministry led him to many temporary relationships, too, even more temporary than the ones I'm likely to experience in my ministry.  Crowds would follow Jesus to hear his teaching, but only for a few days.  Jesus stayed with Zacchaeus for a day, then moved on.  He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, gave life to the dead, and stayed up all night talking with Nicodemus, all people who walked through the revolving door of Jesus' life, never to be heard from again.

But that doesn't mean that those relationships were insignificant.

The crowds and Zacchaeus and Nicodemus were all likely changed for their encounters with Jesus.  The sick, the blind, and the dead were no longer--they were healed, seeing, and alive.  This is no small thing.

I had my first real experience with my own revolving door last week.  A team of volunteers from Canada spent the past month here, building and painting and strategizing and loving.  In their short time here, they built and stocked a chicken barn to start us in an egg-selling business, as well as providing a much-needed source of protein for our children:

They stocked one of our fish ponds with catfish and are helping us to stock the other two fish ponds in staggered intervals to help us start a fish-selling business:

They helped our administration get started with ideas for a small shop & café which will be opening soon on our property as another source of income:

These are no small things.

The Canadian team swept into and out of my life in the span of about a month, and saying goodbye was difficult.  I grew to love them and the Jesus I saw in them.  These relationships aren't the same as the relationships I've had with my friends from my hometown, but they are not insignificant.

So I'm thankful for the breadth of relationships that I'm learning to navigate and appreciate as I adjust to missionary life.  Adjusting my expectations of relationships is difficult, learning to love people while they're here with the same love as if they were staying forever is difficult, learning not to dwell too long on how much I miss those people is difficult, but it is necessary, and it is beautiful.  And it is no small thing.