Lessons from an unexpected leaving by Faye Griffiths.
“ Do take the time, wherever you are, to eat the chocolate and to give it away! Make use of the grace that God gives you every day and make the most of every day that God gives you to dispense that grace to others.”
Why didn’t we eat the chocolate?
We were workers in a troubled West African nation. Hearing the news that we had to leave as early as next week, I was looking at the fridge to check all the things that we needed to give away or use up and, there looking right back at me, was this stockpile of chocolate! All I could think was, “Why didn’t we eat it when we could have?” What’s more, “Why didn’t we give away more chocolate?” Why didn’t we live every day there with the expectation that God is going to give us grace for each day, and we could enjoy the good things and his provision every day?
After serving 20 years in this nation, we had experienced a very difficult last year or so living under a military government. There was a sense of “What’s going to happen next?” “Will we be able to stay?” “Will they renew our visas?” After a couple of significant events affecting our safety, it was time to leave. There’s a lot I could say about that time, but what I’ve been thinking about since I came back was how much I missed out on when I was there – I wouldn’t have realised if we hadn’t left.
Appreciation
We didn’t leave all in one bunch; we left in a few little bunches. For each goodbye, we took time to eat a meal together and to affirm each other. It was generally combined with a birthday party, which helped us to celebrate each other. As we went through this together, we became so close as a group and we all felt ‘why didn’t we do more of this before!’ Even if you think you will be in the place that you are in for years, you may not be. For all of us, whether we are on mission overseas or at home, there is no guarantee that we have the next day. Let’s remember to build relationships and encourage those that God has put around us.
What a lot of time I wasted getting upset about little things
One of the things that used to bother me was how my home help and my husband both had ideas of where things should go in my kitchen. Yes, my kitchen! I felt it was one small part of the universe I could have some control over. So, when I took forever trying to find something because one of the two had put things in a different place, I’d be unreasonably annoyed by it. When we had to walk away from all our little pieces of security like the things in my kitchen, I couldn’t help but see how irrelevant my worries had been.
Priorities
Towards the end of our time there, we were unable to go into town and visit friends. We could go and do a shop without lingering for a long time in any place, and with the accompaniment of a couple of soldiers. Fortunately, our friends could still come and visit us at our home. However, I deeply regret not having spent more time with my friends in town. I especially regret not prioritising those from another faith who were unable to visit me and say goodbye before we left.
Do take the time, wherever you are, to eat the chocolate and to give it away! Make use of the grace that God gives you every day and make the most of every day that God gives you to dispense that grace to others.
…making the very most of your time [on earth, recognising and taking advantage of each opportunity and using it with wisdom and diligence], because the days are [filled with] evil. (Ephesians 5:16 Amplified Bible)
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