Frank Lloyd Wright, the well-known architect once said, “The devil is in the details.” He was commenting on how even the most basic architectural design relies on the things behind the scenes… the details.
I recently thought of this saying after returning from a medical mission trip to Romania. The fact that I am not a medical person by any stretch of the imagination did not deter me from going. After all, our ultimate goal was to share the Gospel with the Romanian villagers.
Our team consisted of American and Romanian Christians, the latter serving either as medical professionals, evangelists or interpreters. We had doctors, nurses, pharmacists and a dentist on the team. They were all quite busy each day attending to visitors from the villages we visited.
As a non-medical person, I was assigned the role of caring for the Romanian children whose parents were serving as missionaries and those whose parents had come to our clinic to get services. We had fun coloring in Christian coloring books, kicking around soccer balls and playing tag and musical chairs.
The trip lasted a week and at the end I wondered if I really should have been there. Maybe, this was not where God wanted me after all. I wasn’t sharing the gospel, helping the dentist, handing out medications or having any interface with the Romanian adults who needed services and salvation.
Then good old Frank Lloyd Wright popped into my head but with a twist. You know, “God is in the details,” I thought.
Upon reflection, I realized that the Romanian missionaries would not have been able to fill their vital roles without someone to care for their children. In addition, visitors to our clinics may not be able to sit and wait for services without knowing their children were safely entertained.
That made me think of the song “Jesus Loves the Little Children,” which led me to Mark 10:13-14: “People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
This was a great lesson for me. Sometimes we are called to do the little things that don’t appear to be key to the mission at hand. Yet, the architecture of the mission trip requires the details, like caring for the children so others have the opportunity to share the Gospel and serve those in need.
Blessings,
-Jan E.