Counting the Cost

Hello everyone, right off the bat I just want to tell you that I am not totally sure where this will go. I am sure in the end it will end up as one cohesive thought, I hope at least. I recently have been staying at a friends apartment, with the duty of watching their dog.  I have been here for one week so far, with no exciting stories to tell you.  It actually has been a boring week. All I do is take the dog out three or four times a day, and go out to eat. So I am kind of like an elderly person living a simple life. Anyways, I have been reading the story of a famous person who gave up everything for the people that he loved.  I am sorry, that is all the detail I will share. I am going to share some thoughts with you based on his story.

I grew up in a family who taught me a lot about love and family, and what the most important things in life are, which aren't things at all.  Growing up I was not aware of how much I would have to be willing to sacrifice to live the life that I knew I was supposed to live. I am not saying I have sacrificed anything, besides some basic luxuries. In my life I know what the most important things are to me.  The true question is, am I willing to completely surrender that part of my life. That is the question we all should ask ourselves. Most of us have things, or people in our lives that we would not be willing to give up.  It is completely understandable and normal.  When will the cause go beyond the things we aren't willing to give up, the things that make us feel comfortable in our little bubble.  When is the cause worth the cost.

The man in the book that I read was a world class athlete. He was the best in the world at the track event he did. He was the most famous man in Scotland, the country where he was from.  He could have done anything, but instead he chose to follow his calling. His calling was not a modern day walk in the park. He lived in the foreign country which he was called to for a few years before he got married and had children.  Soon after his second child was born, the Japanese, who were currently at war with the country he was in, bombed Pearl Harbor. This event made if very dangerous to be in the country he was in, because of the growing hostility the Japanese had towards foreigners.  He had already been living away from his wife and kids, in another little town, for a couple of years.  He sacrificed everything for the cause he believed in. His wife was pregnant with their third child, when he decided it was to dangerous for his family to stay there. He sent her back to her home in Canada, until he could meet her there.  He said good bye to his two little daughters and wife, holding back the tears, not knowing if he would ever see them again. I truthfully can't imagine the pain of doing something like that, and I don't even have children.  He could have thrown in the towel, which would have been the natural thing to do, but instead he persevered through the storm for the goal.   He later was put in a Japanese internment camp, where he lived for 2 years, spreading the love he had in his heart with the other people in the camp.  He died abruptly, never seeing his third daughter or his other two daughters and wife again.  To this man, his sacrifice was worth the cause.

I am not saying this is everyone's calling. Not at all, I am saying that we must be willing to sacrifice for what we believe.  We must look at our lives and know that following Him is not easy.  He promised we would be hated, like foreigners to a land not our own. I need to understand what it might take to carry out the calling.  I must understand it will be hard, it will be war.  I must release my death grip on the comforts that I take for granted.  Unless I release my grip, He won't be able to use me in the way He wants.  Unless I understand the cost and surrender all I am to Him, I have not given my whole self to Him. He doesn't want a piece of our lives, He wants every little bit.  After reading that book I felt like I wasn't doing anything worth while, but that isn't true. I understand it is a journey. This book opened my eyes a little bit to truth of how hard the journey might be. I encourage everyone to take a look at your life, and ask, what am I holding on to that I won't give up. Thank you for reading. Until next time.