"Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!"
Luke 12:24
I'll be honest. I was scared about this summer. I was scared about being by myself. I was scared that I would miss my friends and my family. I was scared of the food I was going to eat. I was scared about all the things that I would miss out in America. Basically my flesh was SCREAMING for me to do what I wanted to do and by the grace & strength of God, my Spirit won that battle.
Even in my heart of hearts, I knew that God was going to do great things in my heart this summer and while I was SO excited to experience them, being so unsure of what my summer looked like...really freaked me out. What if the kids hated me? What if I was bored? How will I live all summer without any friends?
Isn't it funny how much God can do when we think we know what He's going to do?
He absolutely blew my expectations out of the water. I didn't have any, I was just ready to serve Him & yet He still taught me that I did have expectations. I really thought that I was going to count the cost this summer, that I was going to "rough it" for the gospel. I'll be honest with you guys, other than using a squatty potty every once in a while...my life has been the opposite of rough.
So while I'm reflecting on what God did - in - me this summer and how He changed my heart, I realized that I was missing out on one HUGE thing that God was trying to reveal to me.
I wasn't thinking about how God felt about the people that I was with all summer.
When I see street boys with holes in their shoes, sniffing glue bottles and I am heartbroken by poverty - I am feeling a little bit of how God feels about poverty. Do you know that God is even more brokenhearted about the 147 million orphans in the world than I am? When I had malaria & felt like I understood what those who had malaria had gone through - I am feeling the depth of God's sadness when people die from malaria everyday. While I eat everyday & pray for those that don't have - I am joining with God who is also completely broken about the 25,000 people that died from starvation...today.
I usually don't think about God's feelings about the world. It wasn't until I was completely overcome with sadness for some of the people that I have interacted with that I realized that God was sharing His sadness with me in these moments. God hates the injustices in the world, just like we do.
Another side to this, is that the joy that I feel when I see my kids smiling is also the joy that God feels when He sees them. When I can't stop laughing at the games that we are playing, God is laughing too...giggling at the dance moves & silly songs.
I spent so much time thinking about myself that I forgot to consider the birds. I forgot to realize that God takes care of ravens (an ugly, gross, worthless bird - check out the previous verses) so OF COURSE, He will take care of me this summer. I spent so much time thinking about myself this summer that I forgot to think about God. Yes, I have grown and the Lord has challenged me but I think if I start seeing things the way that God sees them, I can learn so much more about His character.
I wasn't thinking about how God felt about the people that I was with all summer.
When I see street boys with holes in their shoes, sniffing glue bottles and I am heartbroken by poverty - I am feeling a little bit of how God feels about poverty. Do you know that God is even more brokenhearted about the 147 million orphans in the world than I am? When I had malaria & felt like I understood what those who had malaria had gone through - I am feeling the depth of God's sadness when people die from malaria everyday. While I eat everyday & pray for those that don't have - I am joining with God who is also completely broken about the 25,000 people that died from starvation...today.
I usually don't think about God's feelings about the world. It wasn't until I was completely overcome with sadness for some of the people that I have interacted with that I realized that God was sharing His sadness with me in these moments. God hates the injustices in the world, just like we do.
Another side to this, is that the joy that I feel when I see my kids smiling is also the joy that God feels when He sees them. When I can't stop laughing at the games that we are playing, God is laughing too...giggling at the dance moves & silly songs.
I spent so much time thinking about myself that I forgot to consider the birds. I forgot to realize that God takes care of ravens (an ugly, gross, worthless bird - check out the previous verses) so OF COURSE, He will take care of me this summer. I spent so much time thinking about myself this summer that I forgot to think about God. Yes, I have grown and the Lord has challenged me but I think if I start seeing things the way that God sees them, I can learn so much more about His character.
I realized that God is not just in the life saving malaria medicine or the food for the starving families but in the everyday moments. He is in the "me, teacher, I know the answer!" moments and the dance party with 3rd graders moments and He is in the moments when I am all alone (no matter what country I'm in).
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