MISSIONS, BACKTALK, AND A RECIPE FOR CONNECTION

One of my life goals is to listen to God and do what God says.

If I'm honest, I am very bad at this.

God nudges me pretty regularly and sometimes I listen.

Especially if it's something easy like a word of affirmation

or an action that's in my wheelhouse.

If the nudge sends me somewhere I wouldn't want to go though...

well, let's just agree that sometimes it's hard to hear directions. 

God recently nudged me in relation to a mission trip

 with our church youth group.

Our youth group has decided on a theme of 'Creation Care'

for their 2019 mission and have used that statement to 

direct their focus towards a lot of interesting activities.

This trip was going to be working with beach restoration

and cleanup with several organizations in Wilmington NC.

Both kiddos said they wanted to go on the mission trip.

My initial thought was SWEET!  Lots of grownup time!

Nudge.

But I'm really busy at work!

Nudge.

The youth director hasn't even asked for chaperones!  

I am definitely not needed on this trip.

I could feel God's eyeroll and hand slap on the back of my head.

My baby.  Photo credit for all the photos from here down:  https://www.instagram.com/thepeakyouth/

Here's the thing:  I did not want to go.

It did not sound like something I wanted to do.

I love kids...well, I love my kids.

And kids generally like me.

But....I can be intense when I'm stressed.

A week with kids (and adults) who don't really know me

in conditions that are completely outside of my control

means I might turn up as someone tweakier 

than I would maybe prefer to present to the world.

Also, I am not a beach person.

I dislike sand and games.

Even if there weren't sharks, I don't like 

to have things touching me that I can't see in the water.

I have never learned the art of just sitting 

on a beach and reading-I need to be doing.

Finding animals or shells or crabs.

Which means I wear myself out pretty quickly
when I'm on the beach.

In spite of my insistence that this trip wasn't for me,

God kept nudging.

It was very annoying.

Eventually I agreed to just ask the youth director.

What if I wanted to come?

Is there space and a spot?

Could I be of use?
Pretty sure I heard a giggle from God here.

Of course there was.

Me in a dumpster taking crap from my first born.  There's a metaphor here....

The month before had me in mental knots.

Where would I sleep?

What would I eat?

Would there be coffee?

Will we have to listen to bad music and be surrounded by flies?

Should I pack lemons and chocolate tart?

How many shoes are too many shoes?

It's hard for me to let go of the details and 

just trust that whatever shows up is actually for me.

Which I think is part of why I needed to go on this trip.
I worked hard on being still, accepting what came
and finding joy in the fact that I am not in charge.
It worked for the most part.

Another reason this trip feels important is around the recipe for connection.
How do you recenter with your core friends or family?
Better yet-how do strangers become family in 24 hours or less?

There's a formula to make it happen that works almost every time

and yet it always takes me by surprise.

This week I experienced it once again

so while it's fresh in my mind, I thought I'd write it down.

Do you have time where you experienced connection?

Where you looked into a strangers eyes and 

realized you were both laughing at the joke?

I'd love to hear about it.

Ingredients:

Massive amounts of salt water (tears, sweat or ocean water are all interchangeable)

10-20 humans

Uncomfortable surroundings

Directions:

Accomplish at least 5 of these things within 24 hours.  

More is better.

Feel free to improvise along this theme.

Slay Some Monsters
Cockroaches count as monsters.
So does injustice or poverty or drywall that needs to come down.
Get after the job at hand with vigor as if your life depends on it.

Worship
Bookend the day with group prayer and peace, 
Group meditation, quiet walks in nature, staring at the stars are all acceptable.
Take just a minute to remember that you are
a tiny speck in a glorious, infinite place.
Remember that you don't actually have the answers
or the keys or the map.
Sing Along

Sing some songs-QUEEN, show tunes, Disney cartoon or awful pop.
Sing them off key and with gusto and with alternate lyrics.
Just sing it loud.
Hand gestures or extreme facial expression increase the effectiveness.
Sweat Buckets
Get really sweaty-so sweaty that the sweat acts like glue
and you are convinced it may never come off.
Sweat until your face runs into your shoulders
or you're missing essential micronutrients.
Sweat until you're unrecognizable, until
you become something new or lose your hard edges.
Share a Meal
Cooking a meal together adds bonus points
but the act of eating together is generally enough.
It doesn't matter what you eat-it matters that you do it together.
That you pass each other the salt or a fork.
That you talk about the incredible crunch of that sweet apple
or the gross feel of the bacon that you're eating anyway.
That you spend a few minutes fulfilling a basic need together.
Your body is being restored by the food and you're doing it together.
Play Around
Create a card game or play a game of tag.
Color a picture, splash in the ocean,
build a sandcastle that will be washed away.
Make a bracelet or a cartoon or an eyepatch.
Dress up like a superhero, even if the only prop you have is a beach towel.
Laugh Out Loud
Some of the best glue is laughter-
The snorts that are the result of some absurdity.
The tiny giggles that come out like bubbles.
Guffaws or chuckles or face covering shivers will all do the trick.
Help Someone
Shared compassion that result in action is an infection-
the good kind.
When you show care for someone else-
a child, a puppy, a refugee or a neighbor-
you are creating magic.
Do that where two or more are gathered and 
the magic is holy.