Reading letters

I love to read the letters from the new Testament. To me, they seem so common, so familiar. You can read them like a letter to yourself or to a friend. And that is often what I do!

Almost every letter starts with thanks and praise to a friend who is serving the Lord faithfully.
I wish writing this way was still a common practice today. It is so encouraging to just read about other fellow workers.

Colossians is a book I turn to when I don't know where to turn to. The first chapter instantly reminds me of someone new every time I read it. It always reminds me of the work we are doing (at school or mission trips or where ever we are).

The most recent time I read it, verses 28-29 stuck out to me (at the beginning of a new school year).

"So we continue to preach Christ to each person, 

using all wisdom to warn and to teacher everyone, 

in order to bring each one into God's presence as a mature person in Christ.

To do this, I work and struggle, 

using Christ's great strength that works so powerfully in me."

It is easy to get in a routine as teachers and role models at a Christian school, thinking that all our kids know Christ, or even that our only job is to tell them about Christ. But Paul encouraged me more here, that it is not only to make believers but to make mature believers. Understanding that sticks is really difficult, especially in a teenager! They change constantly! When was the last time you hung out with one of them?! They are constantly changing. And so it is ever more important for them to have understanding that sticks in the present and in the time when they leave our nest. 

This. Is. A. Lofty. Goal. 

But I CERTAINLY think it is one that we have been entrusted to hold at ICS Pyeongtaek.

Thinking about the weight of this goal makes verse 29 so much more understandable. "I work and struggle..." because it is not always easy---being in the lives of students is not always condusive to a steady family routine (they stay up late, send lots of messages, have "major" problems at all hours but mostly the hours we are together as a family!), our emotions cry for them, hurt for them, wrestle for them, rejoice with them, laugh at them..., there aren't always enough people to share the load of work (physically) and this year we felt that a LOT, and so much more. 

But in the times of struggle, when our hours out-weigh the outcomes, when it seems like it's all coming down at once, in those times we can only really rely on Christ's great strength to work powerfully in us. In those moments, we trust that we are working this out for the glory of the Lord. We're trusting that our long hours do produce fruit and understanding that sticks. Sometimes we get to see that but sometimes we just trust more.

When I read this chapter I am encouraged that

-I am not alone. We are all working and struggling together for the same Kingdom goals

-God's strength is more perfect than my own

-We are praying for each other

Please be praying for us this year! This is our 5th year at ICS Pyeongtaek but even so there are mountains of good changes swelling over us. Pray for all our teachers in the midst of these changes, and for us as well. Pray that God will use our struggles to produce understanding that sticks (even in us!) Thank you for your prayers!