Second place is common in my life. I’m daughter #2 of my parents. I am wife #2 of my husband. Once I was in a competition in high school and I won…yes…second place. I wore a lot of hand-me-downs (second place clothing) as a kid and if you think about it, being a step-mom is, well, another #2 spot. And I have always said I wasn’t God’s first choice in going to the mission field. I think His first choice said no and He allowed me to go as a sort of default. It is like a class of first graders and the teacher is picking someone for a task and there is only one kid raising her hand “Pick me! Pick me! I’ll do it!” I sort of see God elbowing Jesus and saying, “Well, should we send her? No one else wants this assignment.” And I go. I don’t mind being #2, but there aren’t many cheers out there for the #2 team. “We’re #2! We’re #2! Hip-hip-hooray! We’re #2!” Doesn’t work somehow.

I like the #2 spot because #1 has to take the hits, break the ice, scale the wall. I just have to follow others’ examples. I’m now ranking #2 in another way. InterVarsity Press has just contracted to publish a book I’ve written with my good pal Mike Romanowski. Mike is the #1 guy; I’m #2. I am so excited about this book contract because first of all, I think InterVarsity is an amazing publisher and because they were my first choice of publishers all along. Dreams really do come true. Getting this book published is one of the BIG things in my life. It gives me a wonderful sense of God’s nearness and love for me. It is so much of a dream come true that I have to keep pinching myself and now, I am black and blue all over. Not pretty.

The book was Romanowski’s idea and he asked me to tag along. Thanks Mike. It’s called Crossing Borders: Teaching in a Distant Classroom. It’s all about teaching overseas as a Christian mission. The book is about preparing to go. Being the best teacher you can be. It’s about living incarnationally and loving students with Christ’s love. It’s about being the fragrance of Christ in a distant land, serving others, giving of oneself for the Kingdom’s sake. The final chapter is a collection of narratives from folks who have crossed the ocean to teach in a distant classroom. It’s stories of transformation, conversions and relationships that make life worth living. So, yeah, I’m excited. Because dreams really do come true and God really does show up and being #2 ain’t so bad at all. Peace.