November 2010
SHAHEENUPDATE
Trying to catch life...instead of catching up.
By Amanda Shaheen
This update is for you who, we have found, really care for us. Some of you we may have met once, others, we have known our entire lifetime. We understand that we could just as easily use facebook, twitter, or email to write you individually. However, we want to offer a more personal touch in updating you about how our lives together, by the will of God, are progressing.
In case you hadn’t noticed...it’s midDecember. Yes, I am fully aware that this is a November updated, but some how the last 6 weeks have slipped right through my fingers. I had all good intentions of getting this done at the first of the month, but this happened, and then that happened, and you know the routine. Before you know it...the next month is nearly over, and I feel like I’m playing catch up with my life. Huh...now there’s an interesting thought. How often we do we feel like we play “catch up” with our life. Is that a Biblical portrait of how God wants us to live...playing catch up in listening to him? “But Lord, I had this going...and then this happened...and well...sorry it’s been 3 weeks since I spoke to you last.” It’s okay...you can admit it...I’ll admit...we’ve all been there. However, this past November I was challenged to not play catch up with God...or catch up with life...but to
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CATCH God...when he is right in front of you. I learned this from Steve Saint. I know you may be wondering who this man is (pictured above), but in my world...he is one of my greatest heroes. Boys have sports stars, and girls have their latest pop singer, but me...well...I have heroic missionaries. Steve Saint is the son of Nate Saint. Nate Saint was one of the five men who was killed back in the 1950’s by the Waodani people...after trying to bring the Gospel to them. There story has been told in books and on the big screen (Beyond the Gates of Splendor and The End of the Spear.) I had the utmost privilege of getting to spend a few days in Mr. Saint’s presence at the annual Global Health Missions Conference. It was a dream come true! Mr. Saint challenged us to take life and live it constantly seeking after God, instead of getting to a point where you wished you had sought after him more. His father understood this concept. As
they approached the Waodoni people that day long ago...he didn’t want to live wondering “what if ” they were friendly, and I was too scared to make contact. His father and his father’s friends new the dangers that lay before them. After all, the Waodoni people were fighter, hunters, savages known throughout the Ecuador jungles. For them, there was no other choice. They didn’t want to play catch up...they wanted to catch what God was doing right then and there. November starts the holiday season, and for that reason alone, I feel as though I’ve been playing catch up. Party’s, church functions, meetings, events...it can be overwhelming. So...I’m not going to say the phrase “better late than never.” Instead...I’m just going to stop, and try to commit to remembering during this crazy holiday season to catch God first, before life catches up with me.