Lenten Devotional Kristen LundquistJohn 10:1-18 & Matthew 10:16In the PastureEarly in the morning, sitting in the faux leather chair at the Dulles airport, I took another sip of my hot Starbucks to offset the cold setting that was the International Arrivals baggage claim area. Every few seconds my eyes scanned the arrivals door, hoping to see my soon-to-be friends from Burundi and Myanmar. My organization had sponsored a cohort of professional women-of-faith from around the world, for a Fellowship program that would serve to support and advance them as leaders in peace and security issues; these two women were the first to arrive. Today marks their second day of travel, and my inbox and voicemail box are filling up with messages from women nervous about leaving their countries and coming to the U.S. for the first time. As I sit and wait, I think about each of these women individuallymany of whom come from contexts where violent conflict and ongoing discord is a part of daily life; many of these women have experienced first-hand the horrors that I have only ever read about in The New York Times. And yet through these experiencesby Gods mercythey have fostered faith, identity, and resiliency. Their drive to advance their own leadership speaks of belief and service that cultivates a desire to see their people enter a more peaceful and secure pasture. If they were of any other motivationpower, greed, etc.they would have abandoned this path long ago. In John 10:1-18, the Apostle writes of a story, shortly after Jesus cures a man of blindness. Jesus tells the Jews of a sheep pasture, containing sheep who face many threatsthreat to resources, threat to life, and threat to mind & spirit and who in the midst of it all cling to the true voice of their shepherd, knowing that if they follow Him, He will always lay down His life first. And perhaps thats what motivates the women arriving for this Fellowship experience. In the midst of such discouraging circumstances in their home country, they know that the God they serve has gone before them. They know that if they follow His voice into new and often daunting circumstances, there may be pain, but there will ultimately also be great victory. In the gospel of Matthew (10:16), the Apostle writes again about what takes place again after Jesus heals the blind. This time Jesus commissions the 12 disciples to go out among the Jews and share the good news. As He speaks, He gives this caveat I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Our God knows that we are sheep; He calls us to follow His, as well as be, His voice to the world; and, He calls us to be strategic about it, finding balance in both shrewdness and innocence. As I sit and wait in the final moments before I meet the first of these amazing women-of-faith, I am grateful that we have a God who calls us to follow Him, as He leads us with a servant heart. I am grateful that these women have chosen to step out in faith to lead like their Godchoosing to be sheep instead of wolves; choosing to be both shrewd and innocent; choosing to risk much for the glory of God. Its an inspiration and a challenge to us all.