An Uncomfortable Love
By Michelle P., on mission in Romania
My very first apostolate in Deva was at the Monastery, which is a home for children who do not have families to take care of them. The children are there either because their parents have died, their parents struggle with substance abuse, or simply because their families cannot afford to care for them. We try to visit these children every Saturday, even though it is more than a 45 min walk there and back from where we live. I remember first walking there and thinking to myself “Why are we walking this far? Is this even worth it?” purely because I was tired and uncomfortable. When we finally got there, I felt even more uncomfortable since I spoke little to no Romanian at this point and the children were playing in these rusty, deteriorating, old sheds outside their house. I wondered at this moment if I could do this mission; if I could just dive into this situation and meet these children where they were at. I looked around and thought for a moment, “Is this worth it?”
Yes! All of this is and will be worth it so those children can feel the love and presence of our Father in heaven! God, in his humility, incarnated Himself to meet us where we were at. He chose the uncomfortable, messy, difficult life of a human to show us His unconditional love for us. Our mission is not some grand thing, but rather it is that of the incarnation. It is choosing to live life among our friends, to meet them where they are, no matter how dark, uncomfortable, and difficult it may be. We are being asked to dwell among our friends, just like how Christ did – “And the word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). And so at this moment, I chose to dive in and play with these children, to have no inhibitions and to just have fun. We played hide and seek, played with some puppies, jumped in a pile of leaves, and ate chocolate together. In this mission the Lord isn’t asking me to do anything grand, all He is asking is for me to open my heart to Him and our friends; to just say “yes” and to give of myself, no matter how uncomfortable.