Leg 2 Begins

I’m writing this on board American Airlines flight 88 from Chicago to Brussels. We’re one day behind the schedule I so carefully prepared but it appears that we’re exactly on the schedule God has planned. Our schedule was designed to be hard charging and intense. Let’s see how far we can fly in the shortest amount of time: San Francisco to Chicago to Brussels to Kigali, Rwanda in a little over 24 hours. If it had worked out the way it was designed it would have been our quickest trip to Goma yet. It wasn’t to be.

I don’t think God cares about efficiency as much as I do – at least I don’t think he cares about some of the elements I like to see in an efficient process – like everything working as expected with minimal challenges. So far God’s plan for us has been filled with time for relationships, abundant sanity and rest along the way. My original plan had no more than 2 hours and 30 minutes between flights. As I think about that now I’ve come to the conclusion that my plan was simply too ambitious and probably a little nuts; the product of a Bay Area pastor who regularly tries to squeeze too much into every single day and is a little too interested in predictability. I was primarily concerned with the goal of getting to Kigali as fast as possible. The quicker we got to Kigali the sooner we’d be in Goma. God’s concerns seems to be much different: slow down, notice who and what is around me, be kind to the airline employees who are doing the best they can, trust Jesus with what is unknown and out of my control and look for God’s gifts of grace that are all around me.

A long time ago when people traveled the world by ship it would take 3-6 months to get from California to Central Africa and there was a pretty good chance you’d come down with a case of scurvy along the way. What has gone wrong in me and in the culture that shapes me that I’m a little bothered that it will take 5 days to get to Goma instead of 4? I am clearly a Myers-Briggs “J”. I’m goal oriented. I start projects early because I want the payoff of a smooth landing. I know that I bring significant gifts to an organization because I am wired up in these ways but I also realize that there can be downsides to this wiring. I can miss what is most important that is right in front of me because I am fixated on the ultimate objective.

This trip to Goma has already been a gift to me and it is only Day 2. God is inviting me to live more fully under his leadership, trusting that he has the best plan for me, for my team and for our world.

From out over New Brunswick, Canada…

Tim Shaw