Excuses, Excuses

By Rachel Bryant

I’ve decided I have been too hard on Moses.

When we read about God calling Moses to lead the Children of Israel out of Egypt, a nervous Moses stammers out all kinds of excuses. “How could you doubt?” I’ve always thought. “How could you say no?” After I felt the Lord calling me to go on a medical mission trip with The Hanna Project, I found myself having a similar conversation with the Lord.

Although I didn’t have a speech problem like Moses, my first “excuse” was that I felt like I was not the best for the job. I have been an OB/GYN nurse my entire nursing career. When I considered going on a medical mission trip, I questioned my education, skills, and abilities to provide healthcare for people in other aspects of medicine outside my normal day-to-day. I worried I would do more harm than good for the team. But God continued to lead, so I swallowed my fear and applied to join a THP team in Ecuador.

Once I pushed past my nerves and finally arrived in Ecuador, it was all smooth sailing! Yeah, right. It was not smooth sailing for Moses, and it certainly wasn’t for me, either. I’ll admit I do not do well with a lot of “unknowns” flying at me. I like to have a plan and prepare for it mentally. But that is not usually how the Lord works.

The trip consisted of adventurous new things for me like taking a bus down a mountain, then going back up the mountain to return. That might not sound adventurous to you, but I’m from Florida—mountains are not my comfort zone. We crossed a skinny, bamboo bridge on foot to get to the people we were caring for one day. That bridge was not sturdy. Another day, we took a canoe through choppy waters on the Napo River to reach our destination. I held tight to my life jacket.

We also did some construction work, which I can assure you is not my spiritual gift. These adventures were new to me and a little uncomfortable, but I am so thankful for them because they helped me grow in the Lord and taught me about Him.

How do we so easily forget God has prepared us for what He asks of us? He also has prepared the teams with whom we work and the people we serve. The fear telling me not to go on a medical mission trip was not from the Lord. While I was in Ecuador my general nursing training came rushing back to mind. I was able to use my nursing education and skills to provide the healthcare needed. And I loved it!

During our medical clinics, we not only gave the people of Ecuador’s jungles the medical care they needed, we also told them where to find “Living Water.” I’m so thankful God calls us to things outside our comfort zone. I look forward to the next adventure. (But maybe I shouldn’t say that out loud!)

About the Writer: Rachel Bryant, a registered nurse in a busy OBGYN practice in Memphis, Tennessee, works with teen girls at Cross Creek FWB Church in Southaven, Mississippi, emphasizing God’s design for relationships in their lives. This article was initially used in IMages, a digital publication by IM, Inc. If you’d like to subscribe to IMages, visit iminc.org.