Not yet

Betsy Headrick McCrae

"Have you visited Moscow?" someone asks.

"Chua," you reply, although you have never considered making such a trip and probably never will. Though it may seem impossible, one can't presume to know what the future will bring.

This word is also used in another way--a way that surprised me when I first heard it. We were evaluating a project with villagers. The proceedings were in Vietnamese, and I was catching only bits and pieces. We came to the part about exploring the project's strengths and weaknesses. The word for strength I understood, but what word were they using for weakness? "Chua tot"--not yet good.

Parts of the project were "not yet good". I thought about this. Don't we have to recognize our failings as failings in order to overcome them? But the hopefulness of looking at weakness as "not yet good" kept coming back to me. "Not yet good" recognizes the need for improvement but without finality. Current problems can and will be overcome.

We often feel trapped in our weaknesses. We contemplate the seemingly never-ending cycle of suffering that people all over the world continue to endure. We feel death hanging over us. Isn't it time for the resurrection?

I can hear the Holy Spirit whisper, "Chua." It's a word full of hope, but continuing effort is required. There's still a ways to go.

I try to concentrate on the journey, knowing that if I were to ask, "Are we there yet? Are we near the end?", I'd hear God answer, "Chua"--keep moving forward; resurrection lies ahead.

Betsy Headrick McCrae and her husband Bruce direct MCC programs in Vietnam.

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