Prayer Requests - Take 2

Well, between writing and posting "Take 1," I have done some soul searching. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I felt like "Take 1" had an "edge" or a "bite" behind it. For some reason, I felt uncomfortable thinking of my Japanese friends reading it. I asked Jonathan his thoughts, specifically if it sounded like I was preaching from a soap box. He graciously avoided answering my question with something to the effect of, "Well, I did wonder why you titled it 'Prayer Requests.'" :-)

So, here we are two days later with "Take 2" to be posted at the same time as "Take 1." In the meantime, I have been asking the Lord what's going on inside me. At our Tuesday prayer meeting at church, I was burdened by the "darkness in the world" these days, and asked the Lord to help us with that darkness, but also not to forget that the darkness starts in our/MY heart, it's not just "out there." I prayed that He would help us not to just "oppose" things, but to be humble and essentially do things His way. (Honestly, I am struggling to remember more than the gist of my prayer as it was in Japanese.) Anyway, I trust you can understand the heart of the prayer.

Well, He answered this prayer by shining His light into some of my darkness. One thing I realized is that I am/was being very fearful...gearing up for a big battle - Us -vs.- "the powers that be" in Japan. We, of course, are the heroes rescuing this little child from the horrible system he will be born into and whisking him off to "live happily ever after." So, since this is a battle, I wanted to "rally the troops," that is you all who are praying for us. The first thing I needed to help you with was to "know your enemy." Hence, the "edge," I was sensing in the "Take 1" post.

Jonathan helped me arrange the content of "Take 1" so that it was more readable and less "all over the place." I self-edited it to include the fact that we are "guests" in Japan. (I thought stating that alone would "soften" the rough edge a bit.) Well, I have been thinking about this concept and the fact that I really don't feel deep down that I am a "guest" here, but rather I have succumbed to thinking that I am more of a heroine of sorts, in my own right, often in ways that are far from our Savior's heart.

For one, I think I have grown accustomed to being the "Golden Child Foreigner" in some ways. Many native English speaking foreigners are treated quite well here. Those who come as teachers, as I was in the 90's when I first came, have the added respect that Japan gives to the honorable profession. Then, on top of all this, I have prided myself and been applauded by Japanese for my skills in the Japanese language, knowledge of the culture, ability to put people at ease so that they have the courage to speak out in English, etc. etc. The little and big things Japanese do to "honor" us as customers in a store or special guests, etc. can range from excessive all the way to embarrassing at times. (However, it's not too hard to get over the embarrassment of being treated like a "Princess." I have a good imagination, you know!)

Well, today, I have decided to further explore the "guest" in Japan concept and have come up with an analogy that has me laughing and itching to share! Imagine with me the following scenario at your home....

[Doorbell rings.]
You: Why, hello! Welcome, welcome! So glad you're here!
[You bite your tongue to keep from sharing about the two major "surprises" in your day that totally derailed your dinner preparation plans.]
Lovely Guest: Thanks for having me.....
[Other pleasantries are exchanged as your Lovely Guest follows you to the kitchen. You have forgotten to ask her to be seated in the living room.]
You; Honey, can you get us some drinks please?
[You shoot him THE LOOK and smile between your teeth. Then, as you're digging in the fridge for the head of lettuce that you KNOW you bought for the dinner salad...]

Lovely Guest: What can I do to help?
You: Oh, please, just sit down and talk to me. I'll be ready here in just a few more minutes.
[As your Lovely Guest reluctantly moves towards a nearby chair, she gets a glimpse of your laundry coming OUT of the laundry room.]
Lovely Guest: (Quickly silencing her horrified gasp.) I know! I'll do a load of laundry for you, real quick here while you finish up with the salad!
[Before you know what's happened, she's IN your laundry room and the washer is running! You're in total shock. Mortified. And yet, still desperate to get dinner on the table!]
Lovely Guest: By the way, where DO you keep your fabric softener?
[You have never bought fabric softener in your life and wouldn't know how to use it if you did!]
You: Umm....I guess we must be out. I'll have to add that to my grocery list! Thanks!

[Dinner finally is ready, you visit for awhile and your Lovely Guest returns to her home.

After cleaning up, before retiring to bed, you dare to peak into the laundry room to check the extent of the damage to your sense of self-worth.

Then you see it...
There they are!
Your favorite pair of undies - once lost, now found!
They have been gallantly rescued from the pile of dust bunnies behind the dryer by your lovely guest.]


OK, so the message behind this story is: Yes, Friends, WE are that Lovely Guest here in Japan!!

I am so thankful for our Lord's incredible sense of humor! In this humorous way, I am learning a way to "get over myself" and my own fairy tales of personal heroics. I am getting a glimpse of "the other side of the coin." It's a tension to be sure - we are indeed "guests" in this country. AND, we are simultaneously children of God, with incredible worth because of Whose we are. His Word goes so far as to call us Christ's Ambassasdors, which means that we have been given a mission here on this earth to bless those around us, to help actualize His kingdom "on earth as it is in heaven."

The application I'm seeing for this in our life right now is that I must not view this as a battle of "us vs. them," no matter what happens in this adoption process. I must remember God's sovereignty over everything that He allows to happen on this earth. Joseph (in the Old Testament) was not delivered from prison - even though he had done nothing deserving of prison and the system in Egypt at that time failed to give him a "fair trial." The system was dysfunctional (in my opinion), Joseph suffered, and God allowed it.

Whatever hurdles (real or imagined) that we will go through in this legal process, there's no room for whining or bitterness or arrogance , demanding that we be treated preferentially or get the "fast lane" ticket through just because we're doing such a wonderful thing. It doesn't mean that there's any problem asking God to bless this process and allow it to go amazingly smoothly...however, demanding or acting like we are "entitled to" it is wrong. Also, in all of this, we need to let God's love (my human love is not going to cut it, I'm sure) flow through us to truly love and have hearts to humbly bless those around us in this process.

Lastly, I need an extra dose of courage and grace to live out the Good News of Jesus as an adoptive parent. Up until now, as I mentioned, my time in Japan has been pretty comfortable, almost "enchanted" one might say. I can talk at length about my Best Friend Jesus to pretty much anyone without offending them. With some ladies who also love Him and want to know Him more, we can have rich, wonderful talks. With others, who may not personally be interested in Christ, they are gracious and often very willing to talk about Him as part of understanding my culture. However, as I wrote in "Take 1," there is an offense inherent in the concept of being a living witness of adoption, just as there is in our spiritual adoption through Christ. Some to be sure, will be touched by our family picture. For others though, we will be an offensive picture of the scandal of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. I need the grace to continue to live and love - with or without the applause that I crave.

But, oh, won't it be worth it on that day when I see my Jesus face to face!