Being Far Away From Home

It is never easy to hear of bad news. It is certainly difficult when you're thousands of miles away and can do nothing to help friends or family back home who are experiencing tough times.

Gina and I have received our share of news from home that has been hard to hear. Both of our families have experienced circumstances since we've left which make us both wish we could be physically present to offer comfort and encouragement. Or simply to be physically present, period.

How do we handle bad news from home when there's nothing we can do to help, even if we were physically present?

On the one hand, it seems rather heartless to recall to mind the Scriptures that talk about "putting your hand to the plow" and not looking back. Or the other saying of Jesus that tells us our love for God must be so great that our love for our families looks like hatred in comparison.

I mean, come on, really? It's one thing to leave one's home, family and friends to volunteer for a year as a cross-cultural missionary. In which case, such Scriptures make a lot more sense and sound less heartless. Sometimes God does call people to leave what's comfortable, ditch our support system, and go someplace new and do something for Him.

But does Jesus, the very embodiment of God's love for us, actually want us to suck it up and ignore or otherwise refuse to think about those we've left behind ... particularly when those closest to us are facing tragic or painful circumstances? Are we to say we value God's kingdom so much that we just don't bother giving a rip about other people?

Obviously not.

This is when one really depends on prayer and trust in God. Do we believe God really loves our families at least as much as we do, or infinitely beyond it? Do we believe God, unlike us, has the ability to be everywhere at once - so that He is able to look after our families even while being a rock of support for us? Is prayer really effective, does it actually do anything or is it just a religious method of positive thinking? Can we trust God to take care of those we are unable to care for ourselves? Is He worthy of such total reliance?

I think I can speak for Gina as well as for myself on the following. We believe wholeheartedly that God inspired us with the desire to come here and do what we're doing, that He made the way possible, and that He has been working in and through us the whole time. We also believe that, in fact, prayer is not an ultimately useless way of thinking good thoughts on behalf of those we love. We believe God has made prayer, in some mysterious way we don't understand and can't explain, the most effective means of doing anything. It's not a last resort, or even the only thing we can depend on. It's our first and best line of defense, and it's the best we can offer those we care about whether or not we're also physically present.

So even while our families have each experienced hurt, fear, grief and loss in the few months we've been away from them, and while it doesn't make it less difficult to hear the bad news from home knowing there's "nothing" we can do ... we have left our loved ones securely in the hands of our Father, and we believe that is where they are going to be safest, most comforted, and most cared for. To do so is not a once and for all deal, it's sometimes a daily challenge. Any time we hear bad news from home, we have to commit our friends and families to God's care all over again. Doing so enables Gina and I to continue serving the Lord where He has placed us.