Micro and Macro Feelings
Written by Kelly Donohue
An angel of the Lord appeared to them,
and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
Luke 2:9
When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary,
and they bowed down and worshiped him.
Matthew 2:10-11
My youngest niece, Avanelle, is two years old, and my dad, her “Bo-Pa,” is one of her absolute favorite people. She will listen and mimic just about anything he does. The other week, my parents decided to surprise Avanelle by picking her up from preschool. By all accounts, this should have been a pleasant experience, but a change in little Avanelle’s routine was just too much. Perhaps she thought my parents would be babysitting her overnight, and this made her anxious that her parents would leave because at the sight of my parents’ arrival, she burst into tears and hid behind her mom. It took the entire walk home for Avanelle to recover and realize this was a good surprise. The next time Avanelle saw her “Bo-Pa'' she quickly climbed into his lap. Just like my niece, we learn through life experiences.
I think the same is true for our spiritual lives. Sometimes, God surprises us with something vastly different than our expectations. I moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand, in January of 2020 to serve missionary families as a school nurse at an international school. A large part of training to transition to live and work in another culture includes naming expectations. I anticipated the heat and language to be difficult, but of course, I did not expect a “macro fear” in the form of a global pandemic.
I prayed for clarity to know if I could be effective or if I would be more helpful back home in the US. As the options for flights home plummeted, I worried I had misheard the timing of God’s calling me to move overseas. If too many missionary families left the city, would the school have to close? I felt the Lord drew me to stay, but I still felt the pressure of making many decisions to close and re-open the school. We were nervous as some students were admitted to a field hospital. Then political protests developed in Thailand and even more in neighboring Myanmar/Burma. How would all this affect evangelism in Southeast Asia?
Feeling terrified, I was in good company with others like my niece and the shepherds. I love that the gospel authors captured the shepherds’ emotions, especially the fear. Yet they still hurried to meet Jesus. I can look back now and remember how the Lord answered my fears with various unexpected “micro-joys” -- a movie night with roommates, Thai tea to celebrate a language lesson, or a walk around the neighborhood.
But I can also recall the “macro joys” of God’s promises to listen, bring peace, and provide. He listened to my prayers for faithful ministry partners. God brought peace to the school staff as no one had to be laid off. He even continued to provide new staff! The Lord provided by expanding the impact of local Thai churches through live streaming.
During this Advent season, I’m sure I will experience some kind of unexpected surprise, small or large. Still, I hope to have the kind of child-like or shepherd-like faith that is quick to give me another chance to turn toward my Heavenly Father, notice the micro and macro joys, and turn them into praise.
I think the same is true for our spiritual lives. Sometimes, God surprises us with something vastly different than our expectations. I moved to Chiang Mai, Thailand, in January of 2020 to serve missionary families as a school nurse at an international school. A large part of training to transition to live and work in another culture includes naming expectations. I anticipated the heat and language to be difficult, but of course, I did not expect a “macro fear” in the form of a global pandemic.
I prayed for clarity to know if I could be effective or if I would be more helpful back home in the US. As the options for flights home plummeted, I worried I had misheard the timing of God’s calling me to move overseas. If too many missionary families left the city, would the school have to close? I felt the Lord drew me to stay, but I still felt the pressure of making many decisions to close and re-open the school. We were nervous as some students were admitted to a field hospital. Then political protests developed in Thailand and even more in neighboring Myanmar/Burma. How would all this affect evangelism in Southeast Asia?
Feeling terrified, I was in good company with others like my niece and the shepherds. I love that the gospel authors captured the shepherds’ emotions, especially the fear. Yet they still hurried to meet Jesus. I can look back now and remember how the Lord answered my fears with various unexpected “micro-joys” -- a movie night with roommates, Thai tea to celebrate a language lesson, or a walk around the neighborhood.
But I can also recall the “macro joys” of God’s promises to listen, bring peace, and provide. He listened to my prayers for faithful ministry partners. God brought peace to the school staff as no one had to be laid off. He even continued to provide new staff! The Lord provided by expanding the impact of local Thai churches through live streaming.
During this Advent season, I’m sure I will experience some kind of unexpected surprise, small or large. Still, I hope to have the kind of child-like or shepherd-like faith that is quick to give me another chance to turn toward my Heavenly Father, notice the micro and macro joys, and turn them into praise.
Reflective Question for the Day
What emotions do you expect this Advent season and how can you praise God through it?
Kelly Donohue is looking forward to introducing her family to the Commonwealth tradition of Christmas crackers. Her favorite book turned TV series she read and watched this year was All Creatures Great and Small.