WHAT WILL THE LORD REQUIRE OF ME?

by Danna Shirley

            The Lord was moving me to Japan.  I knew it the minute my husband, Ron, came home and said they needed people to work in Sasebo.  I responded maturely, “Y-e-a-h, right?” 

            “Well, I’ve applied for the job,” he said, “and I have an interview next week in D.C.”

         My heart sank.  I immediately knew, that I knew, that I knew…we would be going to Japan! 

           We had moved to our lovely country home just six years earlier.  I was really enjoying our four acres with catfish pond, greenhouse, fruit trees, woodworking shop, and four bedroom brick home.  Our children loved the country life. 

            My daughter, Kristen, was in junior college just ten miles away; our oldest son, Russ, age 15, had just gotten his driver’s permit; and our youngest, Aaron, was thoroughly ingrained in Dixie Youth Baseball.  What would it mean for each of us to have our lives uprooted and transplanted into a foreign country?  Ron kept assuring me, however, that an interview didn’t necessarily guarantee he would get the job, but I knew; the Lord had already zapped my heart with His assurance and I knew we were going to Japan!!!  He was selected; of course I had no doubt. I later learned of the three interviewees, Ron was the only one with ship experience.

            The next steps came fast and furiously.  Do we sell everything or try to manage our affairs long distance?  We didn’t know if we would ever return to Mississippi so the best decision was to move forward and sell everything.  Now, what to sell and what to store?  We made a list.  Sell the house, the cars, the boat, the freezer, right down to the trampoline.  How long would all of this take?  Weeks?  Months?  This was February and he was to report to Japan by the first of April.  I would remain behind until school got out in May.  I was left with the packout and all the last minute loose ends but he was to find a place to live in Japan and have it stocked with appliances when we arrived.  I didn’t envy either of us our duties.

            Kristen was already moving to a four-year university to live in the dorm, but to uproot our sons at such a vital time in their lives; how could we?  Oh, the promises we made them.  We’d increase their allowance and start a car fund for their inevitable return.  This move would go a long way to financially ensure their college education and our retirement.  And, of course, there was the assurance in my heart that the Lord had orchestrated the entire move.  How could I balk?  How could I complain?  My scariest thought was, What will the Lord require of me?

            At this point in my life I had only been a Christian just twelve years…a baby in my estimation!  I hadn’t done much in my walk with the Lord but attend church twice a week, Bible study once a week, and work in the church office typing bulletins and the like.  I was never one to be out there on the front lines.  I preferred to be in the “helps” area, behind the scenes, hopefully keeping everything running smoothly while that “anointed one of God” was ministering to the people.  However, the question kept coming to my mind, What will the Lord require of me?

            Things began to move quickly.  We sold the house in three hours with no advertising; the boat went next to one of Ron’s fishing buddies; then the car, and that work truck I had hated was sold to a man who didn’t even take it for a test drive!  God was showing Himself mighty and with every sale my thoughts cried out, My God is an Awesome God…but…what will the Lord require of me?  Everything was sold or accounted for prior to Ron’s departure and the children and I were allowed to stay in the house until school was out; another blessing from the Lord. 

            The hardest task was saying goodbye to friends.  When I put down roots, I put them down deep, and it doesn’t take me long to do it.  Ron may have thought he had decided to take this job in Japan, but I knew God was sending us there for His purposes.  That somehow made it a little easier to let go and look ahead with expectation and excitement to what was waiting for us.

            There were words spoken to me about ministering to the Japanese people…a fearful prospect since I had never ministered to anyone before and couldn’t even speak the language.  Then an evangelist visited our church for three days of meetings.  Although he knew I was leaving for Japan shortly, he never said a word about ministering to the Japanese people, an obvious conclusion if someone wasn’t hearing from the Lord.  At the end of his last service, he gave an altar call for those who wanted to move out in their ministry.  I knew God had something in mind for me so I went up for prayer.  I had a wonderful experience with the Lord and felt a deep peace that He was definitely directing my footsteps to Japan.  Again I thought to myself, What will the Lord require of me?  Added to this thought came another, To whom much is given, much is required…Dear God, what am I going to face in Japan?

            In all of my married life we had been on the go so I had learned not to bury myself in sadness or dwell on what I was leaving behind. I’ve always tried to press on to where God was taking me. I was excited about going to Japan just to see what He had in mind for this behind-the-scenes southern gal.

            Ron rented us a very nice house in a little town called Kawatana, about 15 minutes from the Naval base housing community of Hario.  As a civilian working on a Navy contract, we had base privileges but no housing privileges.  Kawatana was a nice community but Hario was like my lifeline to little America with a chapel, theatre, commissary, post office, library, craft store, restaurant…and English-speaking people! 

            On Sundays the theatre doubled as a chapel.  The morning service was Protestant and the evening service was Charismatic.  As I attended that first Sunday evening, I was greeted by a handful of believers; a blessing to find “family” so quickly in a new place. 

            We’d only been in Japan a few weeks when there was an announcement in the base newspaper that a visiting Chaplain would be holding daily Bible studies for one week in Hario.  Again, just a handful of us met for these studies.  The Chaplain taught on the benefit of daily journaling.  At the end of the week he encouraged us to continue meeting for Bible studies, however, there was no one to lead the group.  I couldn’t believe my ears as I heard myself volunteer.  Me, who had always been the attendee, the listener, the soaker-up of someone else’s teaching, was volunteering to lead a Bible study!  What was I doing?  Actually, I volunteered to do one chapter in a book on marriage and suggested that everybody take a turn leading each week.  When it came time to pass the book along to the next person, I was told to just keep going, I was doing fine.  That was the beginning of my “ministry.”

            I taught a Bible study every Wednesday morning for the next four years.  We grew from that handful up to 12 to 15 ladies.  In a transient community such as Hario, with Navy orders transferring families in and out every two to three years, we were very happy to have our faithful group.  It didn’t take long for me to realize that my ministry was to the Navy wives, not to the Japanese.  The evangelist had heard from God by not spouting the obvious.  I was growing in the Lord right along with everyone else.  God was teaching me so I could teach others in turn. 

            The most memorable teaching the Lord gave me was on forgiveness.  I had awakened that Wednesday morning, my mind racing with ideas about how to give a lesson on forgiveness versus unforgiveness.  I was to compare (with illustrations) a fresh croissant to a moldy piece of bread, a cherry tomato to a rotten tomato, fresh milk to sour milk, fresh flowers to wilted flowers, perfume to ammonia, etc.  I was quite pleased with my upcoming presentation for I had put a lot of thought into it and knew it would really make an impact.   Imagine my disappointment when only two people arrived that morning.  We had not had so few ladies since the beginning.  I wondered if I should present something else and hold this teaching for the next week.  I didn’t want to “waste” this good lesson on just two people!  You know . . . the kind of prideful thinking that is worldly and not godly.  God’s lesson was as much for me that week as it was for them. 

            The ministry that took place that morning could have only occurred with just two people there.  You see, I just had in mind to teach a lesson on forgiveness but God had in mind to heal a sweet sister of unforgiveness.  If we had had our usual group of ladies, she probably never would have opened up and we would not have known of her hurting heart.  As it was, she talked to us of her childhood, her sister, her mother, and of the feelings she had against them.  Through that teaching, through all of our shed tears for her, and the prayers we prayed, she began to break open and begin that blessed journey down Forgiveness Lane. 

            God’s lesson to me was that the numbers don’t matter.  When He is doing a work, more can be accomplished with one or two than with many.

            I would not change the five years I lived in Japan for the world.  Each one of us in that Bible study realized we grew more in the Lord in Japan than anywhere else.  I guess because we were forced to hold onto each other, and the Lord, with a firm grip in that dark country.  This was not a place to “play” church.  It was our best and finest growing.

            I did meet and make friends with many Japanese people.  I was privileged to see two of my friends, Hitomi and Nobuyuki, come to the Lord.  They are now in the good hands of a Japanese pastor.  Their salvation is a real miracle considering the spiritual darkness of that country and the blind worship of thousands of gods. 

            What did the Lord require of me in Japan?  Well, I taught a Bible study, led praise and worship at church, organized the annual Harvest Party (Halloween), was secretary of the Ladies Joy Fellowship, and preached from the pulpit a number of times. 

            If the Lord had told me back in Mississippi that I would be moving in ministry this way, I probably would still be running from Him but God is so good.  All He required of me was to take that first step…and then the next…and the next…until the realization came that God was doing the leading.  All I had to do was be obedient to follow.