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Sacrifices
By
Donna Rotsch
Three
years ago, in my late fifties, I was inspired to new
levels of creativity and depth of living by Michael J.
Gelb’s book, How To Think Like Leonardo da Vinci. I determined to make of my life, a masterpiece.
Did
you know that intelligence can be developed throughout
life? I have
expected to get better as I age, and nothing about being
average appeals to me. Deepak Chopra points out that the average human
being has about 65,000 thoughts a day and that sadly,
tomorrow, 95 percent of those thoughts will be the same.
Let’s do better than that.
As I studied da Vinci, I discovered that I could not draw
because I never really looked at things. As I began training my eyes to “really” see, I
found that I desired to see
more, including places and things I’d never seen before.
An urge to go to foreign lands was taking root. I had ventured from Punxsutawney to take a job in
New York City that I’d found through the internet and
was teaching school ten miles away from the Trade Center when it was struck down.
Searching
the internet once again, a position teaching kindergarten
in Taiwan caught my eye. I knew nothing about Taiwan, not even its location,
but somehow I thought, “This is it!” The first thing I needed to do was to consult God
about it. At
the age of twenty-nine, I’d had a dramatic
conversion to Christianity and immediately began to serve
God. All
these years, the United States had been my mission field.
Was that about to change? After praying about it, I had a wonderful peace
about applying for the position. But then my mind went to work on it.
By the time I fell into a restless sleep, I was having
serious doubts.
When
I awoke in the morning I was very uneasy. There was no way
I could do this. I
couldn’t afford to keep my apartment. What would I do with all my stuff?
Immediately the answer came. You could give it all away.
Yes, I thought, I could
give it all away…
The
school year in Taiwan had already begun with no one to
fill the position. After receiving my inquiry, the pastor called to interview
me. Before
our conversation had concluded, I was hired with my
promise to leave in six days. There would be no time to do anything else but give my things
away. I
thought about people I’d known who had lost everything
in a fire or a flood. They were given no opportunity for choices.
When I realized that I could stay home with my “stuff” or
get rid of it and possibly be used by God somewhere else,
in a greater way, my “stuff” didn’t seem so
important. That
made the decision simple. There was no heartache over what was discarded.
Of the things I’d collected in life, I knew it
was my memories that were most important and I’d be
taking them with me.
I
have moved many times in my life and sometimes the choices
of what to keep and what to discard were overwhelming.
One time as I packed to move with my four young children from North Carolina back to
Pennsylvania in a mini van, pulling a six by nine tandem
U-HAUL, I broke down in tears as I studied several items I
held in my hands. My daughter Allyson, who was sixteen at the time, took them from me
and told me to sit down for a while. Because of her help, we made
it.
Now
my belongings were distributed among my children, friends
and some people who happened along. My daughter Melissa kept my books for me.
From a two bedroom apartment full of stuff, I
downsized to what could be carried in two seventy pound
suitcases. And
the airlines meant seventy pounds each and not some odd number like sixty- three
and seventy- seven. At
the airport I had to step aside and even out the weight
before my bags could be checked.
Prior
to my decision to live in another country, I had discussed
it with my grown children. I’m very close to all of them.
It had been just “us” for many years as I
raised them alone after their father died. My oldest daughter Melissa said, “Go for it!”
The
others didn’t feel that way about it.
My son David hesitantly asked, “If anything
happens to you, will they send you back?”
I assured him that a round trip ticket had been
purchased for me and that I could return any time I
chose. April,
my youngest daughter, twenty years old with a job and
her own apartment, saw me off at the airport.
Bravely she held her emotions at bay and let me
go to start a new life so very far away.
September 11th of 2002, I boarded a
jet for Taiwan
. From
Detroit
to Osaka
, there were only a handful of passengers.
It was not a popular day for Americans to travel.
During
the nine months I was in
Taiwan
, the war broke out in
Iraq
and we lived first hand with the S. A. R. S. epidemic.
There were alerts when Americans were warned to
keep a low profile and a suitcase nearby in case of the
need to evacuate. One
day while at the Laundromat, I thought I was being fired
at. I heard
a loud bang, bang, bang near by and was about to flatten
myself on the floor when I realized what it was.
Firecrackers!
The people of
Taiwan
set them off regularly to scare away evil spirits.
I
was hospitalized for seven days of IV antibiotic
treatment for cellulites.
They have socialized medicine there.
I received good care with out the frills that we
have in the states.
There, you must even provide your own toilet
paper.
It’s
not true that they speak English everywhere in the
world. I
frequently had to pantomime or draw pictures of items I
wanted to buy for the clerks in stores.
Taxi travel is very cheap.
I had no fear of getting lost when I went out
sight seeing because I had a card with my address
written in Chinese.
I could always hail a taxi, show him my card, and
be taken home.
Most
Taiwanese are desperate to learn English. I
was approached numerous times by people looking for an
English tutor. Most
churches offer to teach English using the Bible.
Many Buddhists have found Jesus in that way.
I
taught the only English adult Sunday school class at our
Chinese church. It
was held in my kindergarten class room.
I was awed when some of my students asked me to
give them an English name.
Their Chinese names have a lot of significance so
to name them seemed quite an honor.
A
Chinese woman struck up a conversation in a store with
me, hoping that I would tutor her.
I explained that I was not allowed to do that but
she could attend a class free of charge that I taught
through the church as well as my Sunday school class.
I’d purchased pretty tea cups, coffee mugs,
plates, and little spoons to serve a snack Sunday
mornings as we studied.
I told her about this hoping to add a little
appeal.
“You
purchased these things yourself?”
“Yes.”
“And
you bought the teaching aids for your classroom as
well?”
“Yes,
when my students enter our room I want them to say,
‘this is a great place to be!’”
“You
made a big sacrifice to leave your family and your
country to come here.
Now I find you spend your money to make us
comfortable. That
is truly showing us love.”
She put her hands together in front of her the
way Asians do and bowed saying, “I honor you."
That
made any sacrifice I had made worth it all. So many times the help we give goes unnoticed and
without thanks.
Now my
son is serving in the military in Iraq. Neither of us would have picked the land we visited
but the experience for both of us has been life changing.
John
C. Maxwell in his book, THE 21 MOST POWERFUL MINUTES IN A
LEADER’S DAY, makes some dramatic statements about the
need for sacrifice to reach the heights that God has for
us.
First,
nothing is a sacrifice unless it costs you something.
You can only give up what you posses.
Ironically,
when Moses was young, he thought he was strong, but he
really wasn’t. Only as an older man humble before God was he of any use to
God. If you
are willing to look at yourself honestly, admit your
weakness, and humble yourself before God, He will be able
to use you.
Life
is filled with trade-offs. But you can trade up only if
you have something to sacrifice.
If
you desire to lead, and you hope to find and fulfill the
purpose for which God created you, then you must have
something to give. Keep growing and building your personal assets, and
hold lightly the things God gives you because you may need
to sacrifice them at any time to answer His call.
| For
of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are
these; "It might have been!"
John Greenleaf Whittier |
It
takes incredible stamina to keep giving up. The greater the calling,
the greater the sacrifice. The higher you intend to go, the more you will need
to give up. For everything you gain, you lose something.
Most people have a very hard time letting go of
things. You
see proof of that in their garages, attics, or basements.
To
gain anything you have to be willing to lose what you have.
Of course, I’m not speaking of sacrificing your
values, your self-respect, or your family. I’m speaking of giving up material possessions,
opportunities to do other things, and even your rights.
If you want to keep moving up to your potential,
you can’t cling to the security of what you now possess.
It’s like trying to climb a ladder while both of
your arms are full of junk. You have to put something down to reach up.
That’s the only way up to the next level.
Life
is a journey, not a destination. Try to remember that there are going to be times
when it’s appropriate to move on. Be ready for them.
Nothing
loosens a person’s grip like giving things away. It purifies motives and lightens the heart.
When you recognize that what you have is a gift to
begin with, it’s easier to give it up or give it away.
Sacrifice
is never painless, even when we try to maintain an
attitude of gratitude and a giving heart. In those moments when you are reluctant to endure
the pain of giving something up and making a transition,
try to see the bigger picture. Moses spent a total of eighty years in the desert,
and he still didn’t get to enter the Promised Land.
But his people did. The Davidic dynasty was established, and the
Hebrews were given the Messiah. That’s the bigger picture.
If a temporal sacrifice will bring an eternal
reward, make the trade.
When
the right leader and the right moment come together,
incredible things happen… Winston Churchill… described
it like this: “There
comes a special moment in everyone’s life, a moment for
which that person was born. That special opportunity, when
he seizes it, will fulfill his mission—a mission for
which he is uniquely qualified, in that moment he finds
greatness, it is his finest hour.
There
are certain windows of opportunity when—if you don’t
take a risk and move forward—your effectiveness could
come to a standstill.
When
God is involved, it’s not necessarily the giftedness of
the leader that prompts God’s blessing; it’s more
often the leader’s willingness to move when and where He
indicates.
As
a leader, you will experience times when fear will try to
get the better of you. Understand that ripe opportunities are never completely
devoid of fear.
Dear
God, give me the heart of a giver. Help me to understand Your timing, to see what I
should sacrifice for the sake of those I serve. And if the best sacrifice I can make is to step
aside and allow someone else to lead, give me the courage
and the heart to do that. Amen
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