"I could never do what you do..."
I have been told this many times. "I could never do it!" people have told me. I understand what they are saying. Most of them, I believe, mean to communicate admiration. Admiration is nice, as far as it goes. But it can also be isolating. When people say this, sometimes as a missionary, this is what we hear.... "I could never do what you are doing.... therefore I put you in another category. You are a super-Christian" "I could never do what you do..... therefore the challenges that you face must not faze you much." "I could never do what you do..... therefore I can distance myself from your struggle, and admire you from afar." I don't believe that most people mean to say those things. Perhaps I am the only missionary who has struggled with this phrase. But perhaps not. Missions work can already feel lonely. I live in a culture foreign to the one I grew up in. And while I have learned to love my adopted country, and love it&