90 Days...

A quarter of a year. Three months. The amount of time you spend in a probation period when you start a new job. And the amount of time it took me to read through the Bible last fall. (By the way, that's something I'd highly recommend if you're up to the challenge! It's amazing how you see the big picture of God's Word that way.)

But, most significant to me of late, 90 days is the amount of time until I leave my current job.

My last day at the hospital is also my seventh anniversary there. The number of perfection, which is also significant. I can only hope that my time there will come to perfect completion before I leave behind my career, my co-workers, my patients, such an enormous part of my life.

I have spent the last seven years - as well as the previous six - learning to treat children with cancer. It is tremendously rewarding at times, shockingly tragic at others, and mostly in between. But, though I will miss the people I have met on the job, I really don't think I will miss the work itself. And that seems to surprise everyone I tell.

After all, I am called to minister to the terminally ill. That has been my calling for years now.

But God has taught me something profound during my time in Virginia. He has finally gotten through to me that the things of this world don't matter. His Word tells us this:

"...Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Cor. 4:16-18)

What is seen is temporary. Everything you see, everything physical. Our cars, our houses, our televisions, even our bodies. They're all just temporary, and they will waste away and, one day, disappear altogether. So, even if I could find the perfect chemotherapy drug that would give a kid 50 more years on this earth, it's still only temporary. And "temporary" is not our goal here. We are to fix our our eyes on what is unseen, on the eternal.

Don't get me wrong. God brought me into my job, and He guided me every step of the way. He took me to pharmacy school, through two years of postgraduate training, and finally to my first and only "real" job in pharmacy, my seven years at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters. But, even here, His goal was to get me to fix my eyes on the eternal rather than the temporary.

So what is eternal? Only our relationship with Jesus Christ and our relationships with fellow believers. Those are the only things that will last. My job was only eternal to the extent that it allowed me to build relationships with others that would glorify my Lord or to the extent that it allowed people more time to be able to spend on this earth so that they could come to know Him. Jesus is the only medicine that can cure the terminal spiritual illness of this world, and His disciples are the only ones He has tasked with giving out that medicine.

And that's why He is taking me away from here in 90 days. His purpose for me has not changed. It never has and never will. It remains His purpose to use my life to glorify and exalt Himself before a lost and dying world who is desperate to hear about Him before it is too late.

I still have a calling to the terminally ill. As a matter of fact, so do you. Let's go give out some Medicine.

Field Update:

1. OK, so this post got put up a little later than anticipated, but... the trustees recommended me for appointment!!!! Yes, I'm a little excited. :-) Praise the Lord!

2. My appointment will be held on June 25... in Richmond. What a wonderful surprise that was! (In an unusual turn of events, the IMB will be holding dual appointment services in June, one in Oklahoma City and one in Richmond.) I am so very delighted that many of my brothers and sisters from my home church will be able to attend. Please pray that the Lord will provoke the hearts of many of those in attendance in the direction of missions (whether it's to go, or to give, or to pray). As you well know, the fields are white unto harvest, and we are to pray that the Lord of the harvest will send workers out into those fields. Please do so.

3. My parents, Garry and Denise Johnson, will be leaving for their own mission work in Germany in early June. Please pray that our Father would prepare the way before them and that they would bring Him great glory among the people. I'd also love it if you would pray that I get to spend a little additional time with them before they go. Their house needs to sell quickly in order for that to happen.

4. Please pray that I will be faithful in obedience to the Lord in these remaining few months in the States. It's so easy to develop "short-timer" syndrome, but the Bible tells us that "whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men" (Col. 3:23, NKJV). He is the One to please, and continuing to do my work heartily is a good witness for Him.

I am so thankful to have gained new prayer supporters during a recent visit home to Alabama. It is such a blessing to know that you and the rest of my "old" supporters (don't worry, that's not a comment on age - at least for most of you! Kidding! :-)) are praying for me. As I'm so often reminded recently, we are constantly engaged in battle with a powerful enemy. I'm well aware that I can't do this on my own, and I desperately need your prayers. Thank you for doing battle with me!

South of the border

Wow, has it really been two months? (No comments from the peanut gallery, Eric Kuykendall! :)) It really is amazing how time gets away from you. So much has happened since I last posted.

In early March, I had the privilege of going to Paraguay on a mission trip with ten brothers and sisters from London Bridge Baptist Church (my outstanding church!). What a joy it was to be able to go. By the time we returned to the States, we had seen nearly 80 people come to know Jesus! An enormous privilege, indeed. How incredible is it that the God Who has all power and all knowledge and all ability and all sufficiency, the God Who can do anyTHING He wants anyWHERE He wants, would choose to use us to accomplish His work? There is surely nothing more incomprehensible than that.

A few details on the trip: I've already mentioned my ten brothers and sisters from the States. Well, we joined a wonderful missionary couple and their son (the wife is Brazilian, the husband American), along with three Uruguayan believers and one Christian translator from Paraguay. To sum it all up, that's four countries, three heart languages, two genders, eleven occupations, and 18 personalities.

But here's the most important number: One. That's what we were, what we ARE in Christ. Of course, His Word says it best.

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Gal. 3:28)

Our differences do not matter. The only thing that does matter is our relationship with Christ and the unity that such a relationship brings with each other through Him, Who is our peace.

"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Rom. 15:5-6)

The truth of this passage really struck me early in our trip, when I went out to share Christ alongside Emilia, one of the Uruguayan believers who ministered with us. She spoke no English, and I speak REALLY poor Spanish. But it didn't matter because we were sisters. We laughed and enjoyed each others' company the entire day, despite the fact that we could barely communicate. And, as God bonded us together that day, we saw 15 people come to Christ. Do you think He used that unity to glorify Himself? Absolutely!

"May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." (Jn. 17:23)

Unity is our mandate. Jesus prayed this for us in His high priestly prayer just before His crucifixion. His desire for us is unity, God is glorified in our unity, we are taught to diligently guard that unity (Eph. 4:3), and unity is said to be "good and pleasant... like precious oil poured on the head" (Ps. 133:1-2). Jesus Himself has made us one (Eph. 2:14). Only in that unity can we accomplish all that our Father has for us to do. Let's be diligent to guard it!

Field Update

Well, this is it. Tuesday, April 8, is the day of my trustee approval. My candidate consultant will be presenting my application to the trustees between 10:30 am and 12:30 pm that day. It's pretty much the last major hurdle. Please be praying that the Lord's will be accomplished.

Also, please be praying for my final medical clearance. I was slightly anemic on my labs that were done in February, and that has now resolved with iron supplements. I've sent in all of the most recent lab data and am just waiting for the IMB's doctors to clear me. Everything should be fine, but you never know how things will go with the medical process. So please pray that things will work out there.

And, finally, please be praying for the Xtreme Team. I've been in contact with several of the missionaries there, and I'm so excited at the prospect of joining them. They are just finishing up a three-month training session, and the new members of the team will soon be going into the jungles and mountains to engage the unreached Indian tribes. Pray that God will use them in whatever capacity He chooses, and that they would be one. Our enemy, who is NEVER creative, constantly seeks to attack their unity by using their differences against them but, as I mentioned above, they, like all of us, are only effective when they are united as one. Please pray that they would be diligent to guard the unity of the body.

If you'd like more information on the Xtreme Team, check out www.thextremeteam.org. You might even find someone you know if you click on "About Us," and then "Womens Team 2." :) For those of you on Facebook, feel free to join the "xtreme families" group for updated news on the team.

Thank you so much for all your prayers! I will update later this week when I find out the results of my trustee approval. I love each of you!