Tonight, as I sit here writing, I hear rain pelting my roof. Rainy season in Guatemala has just started in the last few weeks; one of my favorite sounds is pouring rain, so I'm pretty excited with the lullaby I get (almost) each night to fall asleep to.
This past week has been an amazing one! At a glance, it doesn't seem like much out of the norm. happened, so I'll give you a closer look.
The biggest news is that Ron is back! He left on a 5 wk. trip to the states the day after I got to Guate. in April. It's been great having him around again, but I still forget sometimes that he's here. Mental adjustment still in progress. :P The same day he came home, a college group from TX came to work with us for a week.
That's the second cool thing that happened. I'd been talking to God about how I would love to have some ppl. my age drop in for a visit, then, two days later, 11 of em show up! This year, I've been learning in so many different ways that God loves to answer the prayers for little things close to our hearts that seem 'insignificant' in the big picture. It was a lot of fun to come home from work and see them at dinner time then hang out afterwards. My two 'minions' and I also led worship to kick off debrief and discussion times each evening. They were such an enthusiastic group and really caught the vision of taking back with them what they learn here. It was such an encouragement to see their passion for Christ being poured into the projects they did and people they came into contact with.
Another out-of-the-ordinary thing this week happened on Wednesday. In one of the poorest villages the Bethany Program works in (Mactzul 2), there are only 2 families in the sponsorship program but 12 more are on the waiting list. We don't have enough sponsors from the states to give these families regular help; however, whenever teams/people donate clothes, toys, etc. we divvy everything up into bags to make packets to deliver to our 'waiting list' families. On Wed. Kique, Sonia, and I delivered the most recent packets to these families. The joy on their faces over a bag of seemingly nothing was so wonderful to see.
Please pray for more sponsors for the families who are waiting. If you or anyone you know wants more information about the program and how it works, check out the website: bethanyonefamily.org.
Ok, now on to the part about surrender, love, and mist. You ready? Here goes!
On Friday morning, I got up at my usual time, made my usual cup of coffee, and took my usual wooden chair out to my usual porch/balcony for my usual morning alone-time with God. Each day, I pray for God to find in me a willing surrendered vessel to use to pour out His love to those around me. That morning, I asked God, "Is there a part of me I'm holding back or am I surrendered? Is Your love being poured out thru me?" My Father will often speak to me through pictures. First, He answered, "Yes! My love is being poured out thru you and touching lives." Then, He gave me such a beautiful picture that I wanted to share with you all.
Imagine a person with their back to you, arms uplifted, hands wide open, head upraised, standing in the rain. When you stand in the rain long enough like this, what happens? You get soaking wet. Now, imagine this thoroughly soaked person opening a door, walking into a house, and sitting on a couch. What just happened to the door handle, the floor, and the couch (and anything else s/he touched on way)? They got wet, right? "But what does that have to do with surrender, love, and mist?" you ask. Just stick with me - I'm getting there!
In a previous blog, Reality of Love, I wrote more on what love is all about (it's worth reading if you haven't yet). The long and short of it is that true love is not - at all - about ourselves. In a relationship with Christ, it is so important to live with a heart surrendered to the will of the Father. Through willingness and obedience, His love is made so much more real in our lives. So, if you want to love like Christ you need to be surrendered to Christ. Period. It's not been easy but it's such an important lesson that I've been learning.
Remember the person you imagined two paragraphs ago? "a person with their back to you, arms uplifted, hands wide open, head upraised" That is picture of a Christian who's life is surrendered completely to God. Now, imagine a bit farther - imagine the rain as the love of God. When you stand with life completely surrendered the love of God pours into you. What happens when you stand this way long enough? You get soaking 'wet' - 'wet' with His love. So, no matter where you walk, what/who you touch, what you say, etc., whatever and whoever your life touches will also receive a touch of the love of God - they too become 'wet.'
After I opened my eyes and looked up, I realized that it had started to mist. It was such a light drizzle that I couldn't even hear it hitting the glass patio table just a few feet away; but as I watched, I saw the table start dripping from the wetness of the mist. My Father spoke to my heart again.
To get wet you don't have to be in a pouring rain. There are times in life - maybe on a mission trip, at Bible camp, during revival meetings, etc. - that the love of God seems to pour into our lives. We go home soaking with His love and we know it! If we don't continue to surrender daily, it's like seeking shelter. Even if you don't change your clothes, if you're under shelter long enough you will eventually dry out. The daily life of a Christian living in surrender can be compared to experiencing God's love as a mist. It's not always obvious without looking closely, but it is most definitely real. Like a drizzling mist still soaks and waters, so the the 'not-so-obvious' work of love soaks and waters your life. People around you will get 'wet', just as much as they do when you experience the 'obvious' work of love.
Don't hold back on fully living life! Live with arms uplifted, hands wide open, and head upraised. Then watch and see what the love of God will do.
Isaiah 6:8
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
