MISSION

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. Luke 9:23-24

With my eyes barely open and the moon still bright in the sky, I hugged my brother goodbye. He rolled his suitcase down the driveway, said his goodbyes to my mom and hopped in the car. It was 3:30 in the morning and he was on his way to the airport for a flight to Georgia. 

This past January Robbie applied to be a Life Teen missionary by serving at camp for six weeks over summer. He found out about the opportunity one week before the application was due and in those seven days managed to put together an application full of brief and detailed answers as well as a written explanation of why he was applying and a video explaining who he is! It was a crazy week, but he got it all done and after a phone interview and a few other minor details he was picked to help at camp this summer. So as we sent him off this morning I was only a little sad for myself and a lot thrilled for the adventure he is beginning. 

We had the longest weeks of goodbyes before this morning finally arrived. We planned surprise get togethers, met up with friends for dinner, and spent time collecting things to prepare Robs for his big mission. As the count down began, we started to realize all our summers were going to be a little different without our fun loving, super social, and completely wild Robbie. But as I hugged him this morning for the last time in six weeks, I did not find myself fighting back tears or feeling sad that I would not have one of my best friends living across the hall, instead I felt so excited for him. And so excited for what God had planned for him and for all of us this summer. Robbie was beginning his mission and maybe we are too. 

As Catholics we are called to this lifestyle of MISSION.  I think for the most part that word sounds so formal. When you think of mission, what comes to mind? For me, I think travel, I think spreading the love of God across the world, I think of third world countries, or leaving my home for a long stretch of time. And yes, some of us will be called to be missionaries in these ways. Some of us will be asked to travel and spread the love of God. Some of us might be called to serve six weeks in Georgia at Life Teen Camp. Or maybe God has placed it in your heart to travel faraway to minister to a community in need. And yes, those missions are beautiful and amazing and certainly impact the world. But the truth is, mission is beyond that too. 

Maybe, you do not have to take a plane or bus or suitcase to be a missionary this summer. Maybe God's mission for you is right here, right now. I think in every waking moment God is calling us to mission. Sometimes the mission is just what we would define the word as and sometimes is might be more simple than that. Maybe your mission requires you to leave behind the friends and family that fill your days. Or perhaps, loving those people fully is exactly what God is calling you to! 

In a way it seems like to really live out a mission you have to find yourself doing something grand or completely out of your normal life, but what if we all spent our summers, or our lives, changing the world around us? Who would change the world here? Who would fight the mission here at home? I think God has particular missions for each of us, none of which are less important than the next. So while, I am beyond blessed to see my brother take on a beautiful mission away from home this summer, I know he is not the only one that has the power to spread the love of God amidst the sweltering sun of July and the sunny days of August. 

MISSION is not a week or a summer or a year, mission is a lifestyle. And while at moments in your life it will be clear as day that you are on a mission, I think there are moments where our mission is less obvious, but just as important. 

What I love the most about Robbie going away this summer is not the cool friends he will make or the great leader he will be, it is that I saw firsthand him taking a gamble on the call of God. He just got up and started the mission no matter how little he knew about what he was getting himself into or what he was really doing. I think that is really what it means to be a missionary. It means dropping everything to follow the call of God. It means letting go of what you think is important and trusting in what He calls you to. And it means being willing to love and serve wherever He has planted you! 

I do not know what God has in store for you this summer, or for me for that matter, but I do know that through you He has some way to show His love. Let Him. Respond to His call for you however glamorous, or simple, it might be and do your part to live out His MISSION of LOVE.