Lessons from the Flower Girl

One of my favorite parts about summer is making a trip back home to the glorious countryside of Mississippi. I generally fill my days making plans with family and friends, soaking in the Mississippi sun poolside, and gleaming over my dad’s abundance of garden vegetables. This summer, my trip also included a visit with some family friends, catching up on ministry successes and reminiscing about faded memories of childhood. Without getting too sappy and sentimental, I want to share part of their story as a greater part of the story of the Kingdom. 

I first met Ricky when he came to our church as a youth pastor. He soon met his wife and it wasn’t long before sparks were flying, merciless teasing ensued from teenagers, and they were planning for marriage. I was so excited when they asked me to be the flower girl, which for every seven year old girly girl is a dream come true. I remember feeling so glamorous in my fancy new dress with my hair pinned just like the bridesmaids and my pretty basket of petals hanging by my side. I felt like a little princess…at least for the first five minutes or so.

That feeling quickly evaporated and was replaced by constant squirming and impatience. Being the well mannered little girl my mom taught me to be, I tried to listen as my dad went on and on about marriage, trying desperately not to wiggle and squirm, but with little avail. I watched Ricky and Kim, lost in love and distraction, trying as hard as a little girl can not to think about my hurting feet or how itchy my dress was all of the sudden while my dad continued to preach. 

My mind wondered to the crowd, thinking how unfair it was they got to sit in their comfortable pews and watch from afar while I stood up close and personal. So, with very little grace and a mind of great determination, I decided if they could sit and watch, so could I. Setting my basket of rose petals aside, I plopped down on the front step of the stage for the duration of the ceremony. After all, I didn’t want to miss anything! Forgetting where I was or the wrinkling my pretty dress, I sat mesmerized by the couple before me.

While years have passed and our relationship has grown, in many ways I am still very much that same little girl, sitting in rapt attention before Ricky and Kim, watching as they love one another well and live out the gospel well before others in their community and ministry. Marriage is a ministry. It always has been. Like marriage covenants, ministry relationships too grow from commitment, hard work, and longevity. Relationships and friendships are the trellis that holds the vive as it grows.

Why do I share this story? Because it occurred to me while I was having dinner with Ricky and Kim and their three boys on my trip of how uniquely blessed I have been by their family. The same summer Ricky and Kim married is the summer I began my relationship with the Lord. They watched, taught, and participated in my own spiritual growth and discipleship throughout my teen years. They were there when I was baptized. I listened to Ricky preach his first sermon. I’ve held their infant sons and years later chased them around their house in tickle monster wars as their babysitter. Even a few years ago when I needed an expert puzzle master to pack as much as humanly possible into a truck so that I could move hundreds of miles away to seminary, Ricky was there, bungee cords and tarps in hand. Ricky and Kim have not only magnified Christ in their marriage, but also in their discipleship and friendship to me. For over eighteen years they have been in my life. How many youth can say the same about their youth pastor?

It amazes me to think how often those of us committed to ministry have a much more near sighted vision than we care to think. Every semester I hear staggering statistics of those in ministry who leave offering various excuses as they exit the church or walk away from difficult situations. It is too hard. It isn’t worth it. I won’t really make a difference. This is not what they taught me in seminary. I just can’t give up ­­­______. However, the moment we view ministry as a 9-5 job we lose what Christ means by forsake it all and follow me. Ministry is a lifetime of Christian friendships, a commitment that doesn't end when the last person pulls away from the church parking lot. It doesn't end when ministry becomes difficult or inconvenient. It doesn't end. 

Remember. Christ is worth it. His bride is worth it.

I am so blessed to have Ricky and Kim in my life, as mentors, friends, and a gracious picture of ministry longevity. May we labor to build kingdom ministries based on long term discipleship, of having greater vision for those we impact for the kingdom, and always looking ahead with  expectation to the day when all of the Church worships before the King. May He increase our vision, and may we strive to serve His church with both humility and earnest longevity. 

Grow!

I’m a horrible gardener. For boasting about my Mississippi roots and love for the Deep South, I must admit that one thing I never cared for was trying to plant and grow anything. As a kid I remember loving to play with crawfish mud holes or catching tadpoles. I had no problem getting a little dirty, but mention planting anything and I was out.

I've recently ventured into planting herbs for the summertime and am reminded why I never garden. I am terribly impatient. Gardeners who spend hours and days and months cultivating soil and taking special care their plants amaze me. I on the other hand want to see instant fruit. As soon as the seeds are in the soil I get so excited about the potential growth that will soon follow. As if to will my little herbs to grow faster, I lovingly drown the poor seeds with water and sometimes kill the little plant before it has time to nurture and grow to its full potential.

The scene reminds me all too often of maturing in godliness. Seeds are full of potential, equipped with everything they need in their DNA to flourish and grow. Yet, growth takes time and intention. It isn't an overnight process. The soil must be taken care of, the water poured out, the sun lavished. It takes time and intentionality to grow, for roots to stretch deep into the soil and lace together in strength.

Similarly, growing in godliness takes time and intentionality. No one trips and stumbles into godliness. It is a process. Scripture tells us that as new creations God has given us everything we need to grow in Him, but it does not happen overnight. Organic growth in Christ takes time; it takes intentionality when we don’t feel like growing in obedience. It means cultivating discipline to obedience to Scripture and ever gazing upon the Son who so richly lavishes His blessings upon us. Don’t lose heart. Don’t give up or get impatient as I do. Grow. Let your roots reach deep into Scriptures and strengthen in the truth of the Gospel. Be satisfied and delighted in Him alone and let your worship pour forth in thanksgiving.

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”  Colossians 2:6-7

Lessons of the Journey: God's Great Work in the Heart of South Sudan

     O that I could live always as under His eye, and feel the sense of His immediate presence, this is Life and all besides this is death to my Soul"- William Carey

Live. When I think of my time in South Sudan and the amazing journey that the Savior has led me on thus far, this is the one word that comes to mind. Live. Live freely, vibrantly, and purposefully. Live with boldness, wisdom, discernment, and in loving obedience to our great God because as Carey once said, life is continually living under the eye of our Savior and feeling the sense of His immediate presence.

While in South Sudan I continually felt the sense of His presence. Before leaving, my pastor, Larry, told me that sometimes God uses short term mission trips to teach us dependence on Him because everything else is stripped away. Oh, how sweet and satisfying it is to depend completely on Christ and stripped of all dependency on this world.

Our team partnered with local pastors of various areas and met with many South Sudanese families, sharing the gospel and encouraging them in their faith. I loved sitting outside many huts with the warm African sun beaming down and talking of the gospel for hours, sharing the hope within me, and answering many thought provoking questions about God and His Word. I also had the privilege of working at a women’s conference, praying over the needs of many and teaching others in discipleship and also loving on many orphaned children at the local orphanage.

God is doing amazing things in this part of Africa. He is worthy of all praise and glory! During our short few weeks our team saw many surrender their lives to Christ, follow in believer’s baptism, and begin walking in newness of life! How sweet it is to watch new brothers and sisters taste the freedom of forgiveness and new life in Christ.

     We encountered many false teachings and spiritual warfare, but our fight is not against flesh and blood. Satan is active in South Sudan, but our God is so much greater. He has raised up many strong and vibrant men of God as pastors, elders, and teachers in South Sudan. He has gifted several women to serve other women and teach them of raising Godly families as Christ teaches throughout scripture.

I could share 2 million of my favorite parts of this journey, but I will suffice to share one story with you, a story that is not my own. Her name is Harriet. My sweet friend, Harriet, was the first believer I met at our church site at Remadeyoung. Each day she followed our team, hearing our stories and worshipping with us. This is her testimony.

Harriet grew up brewing alcohol, which is a practice highly frowned upon in South Sudan. While an easy way to make money for women, brewing alcohol in this culture associates with drunk husbands who refuse to care for their families and occult practices. As a woman with little ways to make money, alcohol brewing seemed an easy solution.  Much like myself and others, Harriet depended on things of the world rather than running to her Savior and depending on Him. Harriet battled sickness for a long time. She visited witch doctors who left her with scars on her skin and sickness still in her body. One day Harriet heard the gospel message and gave her life to Christ. She immediately gave up brewing alcohol and abandoned the witchcraft and Satanic worship of the witch doctors. Harriet is alive! She attended the women’s conference with me and continues to learn more about her Savior.Throughout our days together I watched as she watched sheepishly on the sidelines as my team and I shared the gospel to speaking up, sharing her own story with others for the first time and encouraging them to be born again. Harriet’s sweet growth in discipleship, her hunger and love for her Savior, and her obedience to Christ both inspire and challenge me.

 

I ask that you pray for Harriet and for the many Harriet’s of the world. Pray that she would continue to grow in her faith, that she would always love and treasure Christ above anything else, and that she would strive to follow Christ with total abandon. 

Our God is good! He is a missional God and He is alive and working in the lives of so many around the world. Worship Him today in whatever language you speak, whatever your background. He is a God worthy of our worship, of our total devotion, and our complete surrender. Surrender to His call to live missionally wherever you may be. Share the gospel, the love and hope within you and when you do, remember my friend Harriet and how God uses the least of these, the poor, the broken, the orphaned to build His kingdom. Join me as we celebrate life, abundant life always under the eye of our Great God and reveling in His presence always.

Praying for South Sudan

It’s really almost here!! I can’t believe that in only one week from today I will be somewhere over the Atlantic headed to South Sudan. After months of training, planning, and preparation, the time is almost come for me to meet Africa for the first time and find my heart changed forever.

It seems like only last week when the Lord continued to press this trip and these people on my heart. I remember asking myself last fall as I walked into a chapel service at SEBTS one morning if I would ever walk in and not see the trip info to South Sudan flash across the screen and immediately feel conviction.  I needed to be on that plane when it left. After much prayer and realizing that conviction wasn’t going anywhere, knew not only would I be on that plane bound for Kajo Keji, but that my God would provide every need and somehow give me the resources to travel to South Sudan to share the only Story worth telling. Did He ever. He has provided every financial need in big ways and in times where no other explanation existed. Praise be to our Great King who provides for all needs even before we begin asking.

I am beyond excited to see how God uses our team in Kajo Keji to strengthen and encourage believers as well as reach the lost. Many of you have asked specifically how to pray for our team as we are working in South Sudan, so I thought I’d give you a few specific ways.

1. Pray for the hearts of the people we will engage with the gospel that their eyes may be opened to the Truth and they would come to know lasting and eternal joy with the Father

2. Pray for the transparency of our team, that others may clearly see the gospel in our lives and that we may articulate the Story well despite cultural and language barriers

3. Pray for clarity of mind and heart, that our lives be focused on Christ and not be distracted by lesser things that pull us away from honoring God through worshipful obedience to the Great Commission

“Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way” 2 Cor 6:2b-4a

I cannot thank you enough for your prayers and sweet encouragement in the days ahead. Our team covets your prayers and interceding for us before the God of the nations. Now is the favorable time. Now is the day of salvation! May our great and glorious Savior receive all honor and praise as the nations cry out in worship to Him.  

Encouragement: Who Are You Celebrating?

Encouragement. It sounds like such a simple word, full of promise and possibilities. This word often floats into our minds as one of those happy words when someone points out the rainbow above our storm cloud or brings a small smile to our faces amidst chaos and confusion. Rarely do I meet a person who hates to be encouraged or lifted up, reminded that someone besides themselves was thinking of them that day.

Yet, for all of the wonderful feelings that come when others encourage us, we must also ask ourselves who it is we encourage on a daily basis. Who is it that I go out of my way to lift up, to bring a smile to his or her face? Who is it that I take the time to write a thoughtful note to or send a simple text message that I was thinking of her that day? Who is it I fall on my knees before the Father in intercessory prayer for God’s mercy, wisdom, and direction in his life during a difficult trial?

Today, I began celebrating my birthday week. Yes, birthday WEEK. One fun fact about me is I absolutely love birthdays. I try and take every chance I get to celebrate people, their lives, and remind myself how grateful I am they are part of my life. Each day of the week leading up to my birthday I try to do something a little different out of my usual day, to stop and simply celebrate where God has me in my life with amazing people He has put there. This week is filled with fun adventures and a few little splurges, but most of all it is spent in celebration of the wonderful circle of friends and family around me who “do life” with me in honesty, transparency, and godliness. These are the people I love remembering and celebrating as I look back over the last year. And, they are the very ones I want to encourage.

Encouragement is more than a happy thought or a smiley emoticon. It is a powerful means of celebration of one’s life, an empowering and sometimes vulnerable move of support, action, and genuine love. Be an encourager this week. Don’t wait. Go out of your way to lift up someone else. Celebrate others around you and praise our God and Father for the influence of that person in your life. Christ compels us to encourage others. May we live in worship of our great God and celebration and encouragement of those around us.

“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.  Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Philippians 2:1-3

The Greatest News

Can two weeks really change a life? Fourteen days. It seems like such an insignificant time compared to the span of one’s life. Can such a short time really make any difference in the world?

In a few short weeks from now a rag tag team collected from all over the US, including several students from Southeastern Seminary in quiet North Carolina will join local believers in the newly developed country of South Sudan to share the gospel with men, women, and children who have never heard of our glorious Savior. We will board a plane and fly literally half way across the world to a politically unstable country full of confused peoples scarred by the wounds of war for years upon end.

“The war is finally over,” many will say. “Our freedom is returned to us.” Unfortunately, our team as well as most of you know that a far greater war is taking place in the heart of South Sudan. This spiritual war brings destruction, anguish, and slavery for all who reject the gospel of Christ. While South Sudan has broken away from the oppression of their northern brothers, the Father of lies and destruction continues to seek them out, polluting their worship and blinding their eyes to the One True Liberator.

Two weeks. Fourteen days.  Three hundred and thirty six hours. This is the time God has provided for us in South Sudan to proclaim the truth of the gospel, to share a greater purpose of the Creator for their lives, and to partner with the few local Christians to teach, proclaim the gospel, plant churches, make disciples, and baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

How can you help? I’m so glad you asked!

One- PRAY! Pray hard. Pray purposefully. Pray with intention for the people we will come in contact with as well as our team members. Satan is active and at work to quench the Spirit, but our God is greater! He has already defeated Satan through the work of the cross and will not thwart the purposes of God to see His own come to salvation. The following link will lead you to a prayer calendar for the time our team is in South Sudan. I encourage you to take it and pray for us as we take the gospel to the nations. Prayer Calendar

Two- Share! If God so leads you, I pray that you would share this blog with others you know who will also pray for our team. Secondly, share Christ! What better time than this Easter season to share with others the greatness, glory, and power of the One True God and the salvation for all who believe? Share the gospel with others this week. Live the gospel. Proclaim to others the Good News of Christ and share the hope within you!  Also, I ask that you would consider sharing your support for me and my team as we raise support for this journey to South Sudan. While the journey is long and the way expensive, our God is greater than any material need we may have. I ask that you, along with your family or church family consider giving to this great journey of sending the gospel to the ends of the earth. If you’d like more information you can visit this link Give to South Sudan Team Here or contact me directly at kayla.stevens@live.com.

Can two weeks really change a life? I pray that it changes many for the gospel of Christ and the furtherance of His kingdom. I know it will change mine as I see the glory of God upon the hearts and lives of South Sudanese brothers and sisters as they trust Christ alone as Lord and Savior and experience true and eternal freedom. God is working in South Sudan and I cannot wait to join what He is already accomplishing there for His kingdom and glory.

“For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a Shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land.” Ezekiel 34:11-13

Glory and honor and praise be to our great God who seeks out those who are His from among the nations, rescues them, and brings them into the land where He dwells!

How do you say, "I love you?"

How do you say “I love you?” I know it may sound super sappy or cliché with Valentine’s Day around the corner, but just bare with me for a moment. This week I was talking to a friend of mine who hates Valentine’s Day, completely despises the holiday, and no its not because she’s single and bitter. She’s married to a wonderful Godly man and it’s so sweet to watch their love for one another grow. The pure motivation behind her dislike stems from a day when people feel obligated to tell one another in different ways how much they mean to one another.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not hating on Valentine’s Day. I actually love setting aside a day to tell the people who matter most in your life how much you love and appreciate them. However, her comment has been rolling around in my head lately, and I can’t help but wonder why we wait for one day a year to be super thoughtful, romantic, and just love others. Shouldn’t that be our mantra every day? Especially for a disciple of Christ?

“By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

So I ask again, how do you say, "I love you?" Is it with a romantic dinner and flowers one night a year, or graciously forgiving one another when words are not as flowery as a dozen red roses? Is it with a card or phone call to a loved one on February 14 or falling on your face before God in the middle of the night for that lost loved one? Do you say I love you with a compassionate heart for orphans or do you take the gospel to those orphans and introduce them to the same Father you have, adopted by grace? Love deeply, dear friends. Love when it is costly. Love often. Love because you have first been loved! 

A Fig Tree Experience

I’m walking through the book of John right now, constantly be refreshed and reminded of the goodness of our Lord. As usual, I’m having difficulty making it out of the first chapter, reading and re-reading and meditating on what God is teaching me. One of the events that sticks out to me in this chapter seems very small and insignificant. If it were a billboard, people would pass by without so much as a second glance, but I’d like to take a moment and stare into this glaring sign and glean from its wisdom.

In the last part of chapter one, Jesus is calling disciples unto Himself. In verse 43, He calls Phillip. Overjoyed at realizing who Jesus is, Philip goes to Nathanael, explaining how they found the Messiah, the promised one of the Old Testament. Skeptical, Nathanael asks if any good can come from Nazareth and upon seeing Jesus questions how He knows him. While most of us have heard this recount before, the interesting section comes in Jesus next few words. “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”

Under the fig tree.

It seems so small, something that most would only glance at on their way to chapter two, but part of me simply wonders what happened under the fig tree. A man who was only a few verses before questioning if Jesus was indeed the Messiah is now following after Christ in total abandon; all because He mentioned how He was with Nathanael under the fig tree. While scholars speculate what this means, a few things can be easily seen.

One, Nathanael was alone. Had anyone else been with Him, they could have told this stranger from Nazareth about him, but only the Messiah knew what happened to Nathanael under that fig tree. Two, Nathanael kept this part of his life private. He didn’t walk through the village sharing openly what happened under the fig tree. Perhaps it was a prayer, a communion with God, a confession of sin or a secret longing that he dared not share with anyone. Nevertheless, only Nathanael and the One True God knew what happened under that tree, and only God could have spoken to Nathanael in such a way so that He knew that this Nazarene was the Son of God.

What then, would you describe your own fig tree experience to be? What is it that you keep so private and secret that even those closest to you may not recognize? Perhaps, it is something shameful, too painful to speak of publicly. Perhaps, it is a particular fear that you dare not share with others; or, perhaps it is simply a time of prayer and communion with God, that inner worship and sweet meditation upon God’s Word.

I pray that you take comfort that even under your own fig tree, Christ knows and loves you deeply. Nathanael’s response to realizing Jesus’ knowledge of him was to follow in total abandon. Will you do the same today? When this Christ calls you to forsake everything else for the sake of following after Him, will you obey? Will you run after Christ with glad delight to obey Him no matter the cost? Remember today that Christ is Lord of your fig tree experience and He is worthy of your worship and obedience.

“Whom have I in Heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever”  Psalm 73:25-26

Christmas Celebration

The Christmas season always brings a flood of memories along with it, memories of family gatherings, hot chocolate, snooping for presents with my big brother, and of course, lots of cookies for Santa. However, over the last few weeks, I’ve noticed that many families and many children will build their own memories similar to these. Children will sneak into Mom and Dad’s room, looking for presents. Mom’s and Grandma’s will don their trusty aprons to bring a feast to their families. However, I’ve come to see firsthand a very sobering thought I’ve known for many years. Many of these families, families I have come to know and love over the past year, will make fun and lasting memories to reminisce over in the years to come. Yet, amidst the presents, hot chocolate, and letters to Santa, something is missing.

Christ.

Too often, amidst the hustle of finding the perfect gifts for our own loved ones, we often forget the myriads of families all around us who completely miss the celebration of Christmas. Yes, they have presents, a beautiful tree, and lots of fun memories to make, but they don’t have Christ. They don’t know or realize the weight and importance of celebration in worshipping this King. Thousands of children will awaken tomorrow with excitement bursting from their eyes as they drag Mom and Dad out of bed to open presents. But, they will not celebrate Christmas.

The incarnation of the almighty, holy, and powerful God is something we take far too lightly. I know this, because too many families would cease to celebrate Christmas if the tree disappeared, the scrumptious holiday smells turned into cold, leftover pizza, or if no family came to surround them with love and appreciation. Now, we see more of the Christmas Joseph, Mary, and the shepards experienced. No tree. No twinkling lights. No holiday treats. No support from family. Just the odor of animals, the scratch of hay, and the exhaustion of a long and grueling journey.

Here, we find rejoicing, celebration, and worship. Here we find the Savior and the hope of the gospel, the hope for you, and the hope of the myriads of family who won’t truly celebrate Christmas tomorrow. Here we find the incarnate Christ, born as a babe in order to live a sinless life and to take on the full wrath of God for the sin of me and of you. No matter what decorations, family, or presents are opened tomorrow, I pray that you truly celebrate and worship the Incarnate King and that you share His gift with others! 

Merry Christmas!

Skeletons

This Halloween has me thinking a lot about skeletons. I tutor local kids in the area (one of the many hats I wear) and many of them have fun Halloween decorations in their yard for this festive season. I’m often met by bats, pumpkins, and yes, lots of skeletons each time I walk their driveways. If your like me, you probably walk or drive past these decorations each and every year without a second thought.

However, as believers, I wonder how many times we walk or drive by skeletons each and every day without a second thought. There are myriads of lost people that we come into contact with each and every day. Skeletons. These men and women meet us at our local gas station, serve us at a restaurant, check us out at our grocery store, or walk past us during our morning workout. Each and every day we are surrounded by skeletons, and sometimes we find ourselves paying more attention to the decorations of our neighbor’s house than our neighbor’s soul.

I hope that this evening and throughout your week, you will take the time to see the skeletons around you. Look into the eyes of someone who desperately needs to hear and believe the good news of the gospel, and boldly and humbly share the love and forgiveness that you enjoy each and every day. This Halloween, turn your porch lights on for the one time a year that non believers knock on your door and begin conversations that lead to intentional friendships that point them to the only One who truly gives life!

How Great is Your Love?

1 John 3:18

Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

This week the topic of love has been at the forefront of my mind. Recently, I attended a conference where one of the speakers spoke on this topic as it relates to pastors. “Those who love much are hurt much,” he said. “If you love little you are hurt little, but then you don’t love at all.” I am so grateful for those closest in my life who demonstrate such selfless love. Rather than loving in word, they love in action. They love deeply, truly, and more times than not, painfully, knowing with absolute guarantee that their hearts will be ripped to shreds because of it.

Two months ago I took a familiar trip to visit my older brother and his sweet family. I was so excited to spend time with my brother and sister-in-law, excited to open my arms and heart to my niece and nephew, to be showered with wet and slobbery kisses, and to play with dolls, paint fingernails, and rock a crying baby boy at 3 in the morning. My family is so precious and I am so blessed to be part of their lives.

But unknown to all of us, another sweet baby boy joined our mix the same weekend I did. Matt and Chrissi opened their home to baby Colton, a precious and exhausted 7 month old in foster care. He came hungry, sick, and with nothing but the clothes on his back. I remember the excitement and love we had for this baby boy having never met him. I can still feel the uncontrollable and contagious joy my brother and sister-in-law shared for the opportunity to care for this needing child. It didn’t matter that they had two small children, it didn’t matter that there was little to no room for another baby in a house smaller than my apartment. No matter the tighter space, sleepless nights, or life with two babies and a 3 year old, they welcomed him without hesitation.

The next few months shared their moments of challenging days and long nights, but baby Colton knew love. He was showered with affection and prayer. He grew stronger, healthier, and more precious with each passing day. He was loved to distraction not only with words, but action. This week, as I spoke to my brother, I had the sweet chance to say goodbye to this little boy who captured my heart months before. He was returning to his young mother and older brother who finally found a home to care for all three of them. While I rejoice in his reunion to his family and know he will continued to be showered with prayer, my heart aches for the family he knew for these past few months.

Those who love much hurt much.

Knowing full well that this baby boy could not stay, that his time with my brother and sister-in-law was only temporary, they opened their hearts and loved deeply. While the pain is still fresh and the silence is haunting, Matt and Chrissi demonstrate to me and countless others unconditional love put to action, especially knowing that pain will come. They are pillars of strength, sustained by their Great God to love selflessly, unconditionally, and without hesitation or concern for themselves.

How much do you hurt? How much are you willing to be hurt, to experience pain, frustration, anger, disappointment? Sometimes we fool ourselves to believing that the lack of pain in our lives is a good thing, building walls to protect ourselves from the harshness of the world. However, in doing so, we only cage ourselves, never experiencing the full love and joy that God expects and relishes for us to enjoy. I pray that you love much this week. Love in action. Love in truth. Love as your Heavenly Father has loved you and take comfort when pain comes, knowing that love abounds all the more. Those who love much will be hurt much. But they love much!

Falling into Opportunity

     It's Fall! I'm so excited to finally enjoying one of my favorite seasons. I love to walk outside and feel the cool gusts of wind against my cheeks, to finally pull out my MANY sweaters that have been tucked away for months, and to see apple cider at the grocery store again. This season is one of the most beautiful and definitively one my favorite times of the year, especially living on the East cost. This season makes me do silly things like ordering way too many lattes at Starbucks in one weekend, buying cute little pumpkins just because, or daydreaming about lazy days in the park instead of memorizing Greek vocabulary.
     But, Fall is also a wonderful time of refreshment and encouragement. Lately, I've noticed different opportunities throughout day to day life that I usually ignore or I'm to busy to take the time to notice. Listening to a friend's struggles over that Starbucks latte or meeting a precious lady from Rwanda who is not a believer-these are opportunities more worth my time than any schedule I keep. Fall has a way of making me slow down a bit and look, really look at the world around me, breathing it in rather than brushing it off. So as you buy your pumpkin lattes or enjoy hiking through the myriad of colorful leaves, take the time to find opportunity, to seek it out, and engage those around you with Christ honoring, compassionate, and gospel centered conversations. 

Whispers of Truth

I've thought a lot recently about responses, the good, the bad, and the surprising. In a thousand different moments we all react to situations differently, some more amiably than others. Anyone who lives and works with people knows that while we cannot control the intentions of others, we can control the reactions we have towards them. 

The other night a bumped into a recent acquaintance whose name I had trouble remembering. (I have no problems remembering it now.) While not discussing anything important in particular, I made a general complaint which I thought was small and maybe even a little bit justified to which I received a surprising response that was both judgmental and true. And while, yes, I am still a little annoyed with this practical stranger for judging my life at the time, particularly because they were right and I hate being wrong, I admire their reaction to my black mood and thoughtless complaint. They could have ignored it or brushed it off, but instead they addressed the issue with honesty, even if it wasn't something I wanted to hear. 

So, I guess my rambling on really comes down to this; consider closely the reactions that surround you as you walk throughout the many moments of your day, both the responses that you give and the ones given to you. Perhaps the things you don't want to hear from people who know very little about you are the exact truths that you need to hear. On the other hand, you may need to speak up when you know the response you will receive is not welcoming. Don't be afraid of honesty, either in giving or receiving. The response may not always be to your liking, but the truth behind it speaks volumes louder than you may presume. 

Mountaintop Clarity

      It continually amazes me how a weekend away from the general path of life always tends to provide a little perspective. This weekend I enjoyed an amazing trip in the mountains with some lovely ladies from my church. As I was driving up the winding path (carefully because mountains scare the heck out of me), the beautiful spring foliage of the mountain enveloped me and blocking my view from the world beyond it. Without any apparent idea where I was going, I followed the path further along. Then just when I am sure that my gps has lied to me yet again and I am forever lost with no one to ever find me, a break in the trees reveals the most breathtaking and majestic view that captures you and refuses to let go. Time stills for just a moment and every random thought evaporates. Just for a few moments I pulled to the side of the road and stood in wonder of a majesty and grandeur larger than I can ever imagine. In those few moments clarity washed over me, a clarity of my smallness in a world of breathtaking wonder made possible only by the One true Creator.

        It reminded me of so much of what I see in the way people, myself included, live life. We travel along a path of winding trails, blending in with the scenery and almost forgetting our destination in the first place. We carefully turn the corner immersed in our own troubles, anxieties, or fears that we almost miss the view. Too scared to take our eyes from the road ahead, we continue in false reality that the surrounding trees are the best part of the journey. Had we only kept our eyes focused upon the curve ahead we would have missed the splendor of a world so much larger and purposeful than we can ever imagine, a world of grand elegance and promise that seems inconceivable. Instead of turning to breathe in the beauty around us, we drive forward as many others before us have done, towards a destination that we can no longer find, or worse, believe it isn’t there in the first place.

        I loved a recent quote that one of my professors referred to in class. “Life is a pilgrimage,” he said, “not a journey. A journey implies that you don’t know the ending. A pilgrimage, however, has a clear and discernable destination.” Whether you just came through one of those curves, see it ahead, or are currently in its centripetal gravity, don’t forget this truth. You have a clear and discernable destination. As a believer in Christ, you are part of a much greater destination than your own, joining our great and majestic Creator on mission as part of His grand story throughout redemptive history. You fit into a greater purpose of His plan than you could ever dream for yourself. Why then do we so often live in practical atheism, focusing more on the rocks and trees than the canvas of God’s larger plan? Rather than basking in the sunlight of His glory, we hide in the shadows and shield our eyes. We live day in and day out as if God is not there in the way we respond to fears, tragedy, stress, or brokenness. Rather than trusting in our faithful Creator, we instead react as anyone who believes there is no God. I hope to challenge you to take a few moments today to look for the majestic beauty of God’s purposes rather than focusing on the details that distort your view. He is a Creator worthy of our affections, our trust, and our devotion. Don’t live today as if there is no God. Trust in His purposes and plan and walk boldly on this pilgrimage, knowing the hope and glory of your destination. 

Possibility

          The change of seasons seems to always bring a change of attitude as well. Call me a sap or a hopeless romantic, but I have always loved the metaphor of seasons compared to the seasons of life; my favorites being fall and spring. Besides the beautiful weather and a chance to break out the flip-flops, these times in the year always remind me of transitions. Summer and winter are always the solid seasons, plunging to the extremes of smoldering heat or a cold that takes your breath away. But, fall and spring are the in between seasons. Those that flirt with what will come next, begging you to embrace the limbo before the extreme sets in upon you.

Usually, my English geek gene kicks in about now and I search for a word to help describe my aim or goal for the season. Last fall, my word was intentionality. When my world was drastically changing around me, full of new adventure and excitement I held onto the idea of being intentional, of embracing the unfamiliar around me and diving head first into a journey that continues to catch me by surprise.

 Now, as I breathe in the spring air and soak in the morning sunlight, the only word that comes to mind is possibility. Yes, it may be cheesy, but I love the idea of new possibility, of discovering something new or maybe just seeing something for the first time that perhaps you’ve “looked” at for years. Don’t get me wrong, the idea of being vulnerable isn’t something I usually run towards. But, I usually find that some of the best parts of a season come when you open yourself up to a possibility.

So as spring settles upon you and you break out the flip flops, fishing poles, golf clubs, or whatever else you love to do in the spring, I wonder if maybe you’ll join me in a season of possibility. What dream have you laid aside for something else that crowded in around you? What relationship have you put off, friend or otherwise, because life told you that possibility wasn’t worth the effort? What new adventure are you ready to embark on? What new road do you secretly want to walk, but haven’t let yourself enjoy the possibility of taking the first step? I hope this season you will consider the possibility of what can be and have the courage to take that first step with me in a new season, flip flops in hand!