(From Wed. 6-29-11--Blogger was having issues not wanting me to post!)
“Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.’ … ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.’” -Luke 9:58; 62
Tonight the realization of having to pack hit me, so I am beginning to get a little stressed about that. I ALWAYS over-pack, so that will be a struggle for me to overcome for this trip. I am kind of glad to be so limited in the bags I can take, though, because it will force me to really get down to the bare essentials and not be distracted by all the “things” I feel the need to take with me. In the end, there are really few things that I actually can’t do without, (passport, airline ticket) and once I get on that plane, there is nothing I can do about anything I left behind. I guess it’s the American and the woman in me that wants to pack everything but the kitchen sink. For that reason I’m grateful that I’ve been to Ukraine before and interacted with them before—the past few days as I’ve been getting ready, trolling the aisles of Wal-Mart trying to think of last minute stuff I need, I have passed up so many things that I truly don’t need because I was able to remind myself of the simple Ukrainian way—be flexible and improvise! Really, it was first the way of Christ—He was basically homeless during his short time of ministry and yet he always found a way to sleep, eat, perform countless miracles, and pave the path of a true radical. Obviously I will not make the blind see or heal any lepers, but I hope that during my time in Ukraine, I will become more brave and radical in the likeness of Christ.
