This is the second post of a mini-series I introduced last week about the emotional journey of leaving church-as-we-knew-it to become missionaries-as-a-way-of-life in Los Angeles.  Thanks for reading… 

“Something’s crossed over in me…  I can’t go back.” 

PART 1: MILDLY PANICKED

Section A: Missing the trees

It was January 2007 and anxiety entered me.  Here we are, a meager team of two families on the “foreign” mission field of Los Angeles.  Two and half miles down the road behind us is that wonderful church family who had helped us to fall madly in love with Jesus, loved on us for 10 precious years, and then pushed us out of the nest to bless others.  Our mission: To share the love and message of Jesus Christ with Angelenos “who will never come to us.” 

What a shock to the system this was (and still is at times).  Suddenly we weren’t going to church.  For a guy who grew up going to church at least three times per week, I felt like I was breaking God’s rules!  In my mind I could rationalize my family’s sudden “drop in attendance”: We weren’t going to church because we hadn’t led anyone to the Lord yet.  There simply were no new churches to speak of. 

We were starting from scratch, and an uneasy feeling crept into the group.  My teammate Ed nailed it on the head when he observed that “We have grown accustomed to leaning on some trees for support.  We don’t have those trees anymore.”  Yes, that was it!  I was missing the blessed shade and support of my favorite trees, and anxiety was settling in. 

For Tomorrow: (Part 1B) Naming my old trees

[Actually, Part 1B will come on Thursday.]

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