So you probably don't know my story, and that's ok, I'm not convinced you need to know the whole thing. What you should know though is that things have changed so very much for me. My heart has changed thanks to the love of the one and only God who reached down and pulled me up from darkness and being lost to quite literally save my life. He didn't do this for nothing and I'm learning so much about why He did and what He wants me to do in response to this knowledge. The Rascal Flatts song, Changed, has been stuck in my head for a while...I think it pretty well sums up my life...
"I got off track, I made mistakes
Back slid my way into that place where souls get lost
Lines get crossed
And the pain won’t go away
I hit my knees, now here I stand
There I was, now here I am
Here I am
Changed"
Currently on my mind is the whole idea of letting God work through me. Earlier this year, I went on my first mission trip...best thing I've ever done in my whole entire life. A little after that trip I was talking to a missionary I know about another trip I was planning to take, a spring break mission trip to Oklahoma. I remember saying to her, "It's just a little trip, but I think it'll be pretty great." She replied with something that I've been thinking about ever since, "I mean, sure it's a smaller trip. But it's not about how big or small or how far away something is. All that matters is that you're giving your time to God and letting Him work through you." Oh, so that's how this deal works? Ok.
And of course, she was right. Oklahoma ended up being huge for me and taught me so much! This year as a whole has really taught me a ton about allowing God to work through me, to be willing to move when He tells me to move. For so long, my life has been so consumed by work. And I've always let that be my excuse for not going on mission trips, not serving in the church, not spending time with people just to show them love, etc. It has almost always been, "I can't get time off" or, "I really need money, I have to work." But so many things are just so much more important than work!
Example? I stopped working Sunday nights in order to sponsor youth activities at church. So, yeah, I miss out on the hours and tips from that night but I have the chance to really love this group of amazing junior high and high school kids! I can show them that they are so much more important to me than anything else I could be doing during that time or anything I could buy with the money I would make from working during that time. And yeah, taking time off for mission trips, camp, and various other things God has me doing makes things a bit tighter when the rent is due...but it doesn't even matter anymore because God's got it all handled, always.
My other excuse has traditionally been the fact that I don't have the answers...how am I going to talk to people about God if I don't know what to say to them? My friend Rachel said to me in response to this one, "Maybe it's not about having all the answers..." That's the cool thing, it doesn't matter that I don't know what to say, because God does know! He knows exactly what every person needs to hear at a given time or exactly who I'm supposed to be spending my time with in order to share His light with them.
I guess that's what it's all about, right? Being the hands and feet of God to show His love to the world. But we can't do that if we aren't willing to let God lead the way. I shall continue to look for these opportunities and stop making excuses not to take them, hope you do the same :)
No comments:
Post a Comment