The formation that takes place at the edges happens not only among the unreached but in missionaries themselves. This poem speaks to the precious growth that occurs in cross-cultural servants as they consent to the Spirit’s shaping of their lives. It was written in the context of a Second Half Collaborative retreat that launched our 2024 cohort (https://2hc.life). The Second Half Collaborative is an initiative of Frontier Ventures.

Eyes to See

Don’t worry, dear one:
We have eyes to see.

Eyes to see in you
What many have missed, 
And what many more 
Have misunderstood.

Eyes to see the beautiful creature
Taking shape in your inmost sanctum’s
Holy, fertile Darkness.

Take heart, beloved of God:
Your impregnation was his doing.

Have patience, treasured of God:
Your soul’s gestation cannot be hurried.

And make no mistake,
This new life is no abomination.

Quite the opposite.

It is Christ in you,
The hope of glory.

It is losing your whole world
Yet gaining your soul.

It is you, at long last,
Selling everything you own
For the pearl of great price
Buried at your core.

Yes, we see the beautiful creature
Forming in your depths.

May our friendship bring this
Divine pregnancy to term.

May it become both
Incubator and midwife
For the wild, precious Gift,
That is, even at this moment,
Kicking your belly from within.