January 2022 Mobile Mission

by Kat Silverglate, Founder Copyright 2021

My dad was a great storyteller – master level great. Mom used to say that he could take you anywhere on his magic carpet of words. He really could. We thought his gift was awesome - most of the time.

Truth be told, neither my sister nor I loved Daddy’s unannounced decision to “work with us” on our nascent story skills.

I was mid-story one day: “… and then this lady went behind the bus and…”

“What lady?” he interrupted.

It halted me. I thought about his question, went back to that part of the story, restarted, and added in the missing details.

“… and then the cafeteria lady went…“ His nod of approval felt great.

Over time, however, the pattern started to wear thin. I’d be excitedly sharing about my day. The momentum would build. He’d interrupt, ask a clarifying question, wait for me to go back and restart with the missing details, and then nod with approval. All the rewinding and starting again was frustrating. 

“What thing?” he asked one day, mid-story. “I don’t know Daddy. Just the thing! It doesn’t matter,” I barked back and tried to keep going.

“What thing?” he asked said again forcing me to pause.

I don’t remember his exact lesson, but it was along these lines: “Remember Mouse, I wasn’t there when this happened. Only you were there. Take me to the moment with your words.” Mouse was the affectionate name he used when he wanted to signal that he was “for me” in a tense time. I needed to be reminded, often, that I was very small with much to learn. His affectionate nickname and tone said: “I’m not doing this to annoy you. I’m teaching you something good.”

One day, mid-story, I heard my voice utter some vague phrase like “that guy.” Without missing a beat, I stopped, backed up, started again, and added the details nobody could know unless I shared them. He nodded. His approval felt great.

Daddy knew that all the rewinds and restarts would eventually rut a grove in my growth muscle. It did. He was teaching me to notice the REwind button on my growth chart. More, he was inspiring me to find the joy in pressing it on my own.

What I love about the word REwind, is the prefix. When you add RE to a word, “again” or “back again” is appended to the meaning. RE transforms the word “wind” into “wind back again.”

Think about all the great RE words we use in January to REset our intentions. REnew. REstore. REvive. REdiscover. REbuild. REdo. REenter. REturn. REpeat. REwrite. REdeem. REadjust. REignite. RElight. REkindle. REduce sugar intake!

In his letter to the church in Rome, the Apostle Paul describes this idea of going back again for REnewal and transformation and deeper knowledge of God’s will for our lives.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the REnewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

The pattern of the world, in our current cultural moment, is full of dings and bells and whistles. The world demands instant responses. Instant messages. Instant access. Instant reporting. A bell goes off, we jump. Two bells go off, we multi-task. After a while, we aren’t sure whether we are coming or going. Don’t you wonder sometimes if we are thoughtfully choosing to respond or the consistency of our instant Reactions have finally carved a grove in us that joins the prefix RE to nearly every ACT?  Is the world’s pattern transforming us into human REactors?   

Go back again, God is telling us. Go back again and again to His story for our lives. Go back and look for the details He has made known. About Him. About you. About the world, purpose, hope. That is the rut He wants to grove in our Spirits. He nudges, pokes and interrupts us so we’ll REthink where we go for REnewal. He wants His story for our lives to become our prefix. Our RE. Our “back again” place. Our groove.  

Our January 2022 Mission:

In your mission pack, you will find an envelope with 12 numbered stickers. They are all higgledy-piggledy in the pack and randomly dotted on this page. These are as close as we could find to lottery balls.  When we conform to the pattern of the world and its relentless demands for responsiveness, we can start to feel like lottery balls tossed in a rolling basket waiting for our number to be called. Our challenge over the next 30 days is to pause when we find ourselves in chaos, catch ourselves on autopilot, or notice we are REacting out of habit without any thought of God’s presence. In those moments, will you consider stopping right in the middle of your living story to seek Him and then REstart again? Each time you find yourself REthinking your responsiveness pattern this way, find the next consecutive sticker and record the moment. He brings order from chaos; peace that exceeds our understanding.

This exercise is the start of a Responsiveness Growth Chart. The more we practice this pattern, the deeper the groove.