On Boundaries

“So what’s next for you?”

A question I hear daily. A question that nearly every 20 something hears on the regular just because of the stage of life that we’re in. This question probes us to take personality tests to help us decide what would best fit our specific skills and strengths. This question ignites fear and anxiety about the thousands of choices we have for our future. But most of all, this question makes us think WAY too much.

I’ve officially been in Kenya for 7 months, with the exception of a short stint in the middle where I was able to go home for the holidays. There have been highs and lows that have trumped any high or low that I experienced before for this adventure. Kenya is a challenging place of lack of anonymity and of cultural sensitivity, but is also a beautiful place full of God’s creative splendor.

One of the most challenging parts about this experience is that I feel like I’m missing so many big events in the lives of those I love. Some examples. Since I’ve been here, 5 close friends have gotten engaged, 4 have gotten married, 1 has had a child, and so many more have moved jobs, houses, lives, and plans for their future. It all seems very glamorous. Or at least Facebook makes me believe that it is.

Let’s be real, everyone makes their lives seem awesome on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube etc. Who wouldn’t? Instead of gloating in reality we now have a platform to do it virtually without shame. Right? Think again.

The version of myself that I present on any sort of social media is only in competition to my “friends.” We give others a baseline for engagement in order to try and out-post, out-cool, and out-beat each other with how many likes and comments we can get. And trust me, I’m the first one to admit that I’m guilty of this.

So how does this relate to “What’s next for you”? Well, I see others lives, or the version of their lives that is public to the world, and it’s intimidating. Everyone’s fighting for the nicest clothes, the cutest pet, and the best paying job and I’m exhausted just thinking about how much stuff I have to get when I return just to keep up with the social status.

If my time in Kenya thus far has taught me anything, it’s that I’m a sinner. I fall into the lies of the enemy more often than ever. “You’re not sacrificing enough.” “You’re not involved enough.” “You’re not trying.” “You’re not equipped for this work.” “You don’t have what it takes here or at home.” These lies come from various mediums but that’s exactly what they are, they’re lies.

Some of the new-ish missionary women at Tenwek have been meeting for small group and reading Your Beautiful Purpose by Susie Larson. It talks about discovery of God’s work through you and how to enjoy His purpose. From last week’s meeting, this paragraph really resonated with me.

“God has a protective, loving heart for us. Within each season, He measured out a boundary where we can thrive, flourish, and grow. We have giants to face, battles to win, and victories to gain. These are all doable within the boundaries God sets for us. And the moment He knows we’re ready, He’ll expand our territory in one way or another.”

I may compare and I may struggle to know what’s next, but God has set my boundaries for this time. He’s created a place for me to be victorious, to defeat the lies the enemy tempts me to believe and to keep me expectant for how He will provide.

So what’s next for me? A territory expansion. But only He knows what that will include. All I can to do is thrive, flourish and grow in the boundary He has set for me now.

Prayer requests 

1. We're nearing the end of Bible Quizzing and our second competition is next week. The kids are being quizzed on memory verses and questions from several chapters in 1 Samuel! Pray for The Giant Slayers (my team obviously) as they compete next week for the gold! 

2. Alongside several long-termers, I've been working on a project that will allow the 5 orphanages in the area to receive medical attention free of charge due to a generous donation of a visiting Tenwek doc. Please pray that despite the challenging and menial work, that we'll get it up and running in a few weeks. Update to follow soon. 

3. Let's continue to pray for South Sudan, Ukraine and the many nations that are in conflict. 

4. Praise: Despite being in rural Kenya, we got to watch a majority of the Olympics! Letsgoooo USA. 

5. We also had a Girls Night a week ago which obviously included hair braiding, nail painting, and Frozen watching. So much fun. 

|| As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has--or ever will have--something inside that is unique to all time. It's our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness and to provide ways of developing its expression. – Mr. Rogers ||