Then I was reminded that I should be waiting in the same manner for the coming again of the Messiah. How simple and obvious and yet overlooked a fact that was to me! He's coming soon, and as it was out by a wise peer of mine, "we're 2000 years closer to soon." Christ could be returning at anytime, so I should be joyful in that anticipation and prepared in my spirit for that glorious day. Praise be to The Lord for His hope, preparation, joy, love and ultimately His Son, Christ Jesus!
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Advent: A Season of Waiting
I absolutely love when God places reminders in my life in unsuspecting ways. Tonight I had the joy of hearing my peers speak briefly about how the representations of the advent candles have been shown in their lives. When we reached the candle of Joy, I was reminded that there is joy in the waiting and in the deep longing for end result. The comparison of a little child waiting desperately for his birthday and the presents he'll receive was used to show how excited the Jewish people must have been as they eagerly anticipated the coming of the Messiah.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
A Longing for Something More Than This
This time of year is my favorite. Family oriented holidays, good food, nostalgia, happiness. I just love the late fall and winter season. It also makes me start to remember the past, appreciate the present, and look to the future more than any other time of year. With a holiday like Thanksgiving, it's hard not to.
This year I'm just as aware of these feelings and spend a lot of time lost in thought regarding all of it. However, I've noticed another feeling added into the mix this year that took me awhile to understand and put my finger on. Then I realized that it's a longing for even more than all of this. A longing to have more than just this season of the year to appreciate and by joyful, hopeful, grateful. A longing to have a point to it all. While it's great to celebrate Thanksgiving and be home with my family and friends, I still feel like there is something even bigger out there to be focused on.
Over the past several weeks, I've felt this desire in some form or another. It doesn't come in the form of simply a longing. It hits me when I hear a very American-ized, consumerist attitude about something or see a news story that expresses how far humanity has fallen. It hit me this weekend as I read about an elderly woman being trampled and a young boy being elbowed in the face in the midst of the Black Friday shopping stampedes. It hit me when I spent a day going through the debris and wreckage left behind in Washington, IL after a series of tornadoes swept the area. It hit me my email inbox was filled with reminders about Cyber Monday coming up. Is this really all there is left for us in society?
I can't imagine where America will be in just five years if we've already sold ourselves over to the need to have more, be better, earn more money, be recognized. I don't pretend to be above all of this. I'm just as guilty of buying into the American dream and always wanting the newest and best gadget around. I know that I've been swept into this mindset, but I don't want to stay in it. I don't want my mind and soul to be corrupted; I want more than this.
In so many ways, I feel that the people who live with next to nothing are living in greater splendor than I ever will. These people who struggle everyday to feed their families are living with a joy and hope that cannot be taken away from them. They worship the Lord with a fervor that can't be explained except by His Spirit at work within them. I want that! I want to be so full of the Spirit that I don't need material possessions to be happy. I want to live in want for a period of time so that I have no choice but to be entirely dependent on God. I want to learn to live with little so that I can live more fully, love more completely, and engage with others more deeply.
The more I've thought of this, the more I've felt the Lord leading my heart to nations overseas. I will soon be leaving the country for a month to spend time in the Philippines with a group of other students from Taylor University. I can't wait to see how God uses this time to grow me and my heart. If I've been feeling a calling to work overseas, this first opportunity for me to be there is huge. I pray that God will reveal to me whether I'm interpreting His leading correctly. Your prayers for this would be appreciated as well!
Ultimately, I've become dissatisfied with the culture in which I live. I engage in this culture and am fully a part of it too, but I want to change that. Right now, I don't know how, but I have the desire to change. And with time, I hope that change will come.
On a different note, if you would like more information about my upcoming trip to the Philippines or are interested in supporting my team and I as we go, please let me know! I would love to have you involved in the trip be it through prayer, a financial contribution or a donation of items that we can leave with the children and families we meet while we're there. We look forward to our trip, and I look forward to sharing all about it when I return!
This year I'm just as aware of these feelings and spend a lot of time lost in thought regarding all of it. However, I've noticed another feeling added into the mix this year that took me awhile to understand and put my finger on. Then I realized that it's a longing for even more than all of this. A longing to have more than just this season of the year to appreciate and by joyful, hopeful, grateful. A longing to have a point to it all. While it's great to celebrate Thanksgiving and be home with my family and friends, I still feel like there is something even bigger out there to be focused on.
Over the past several weeks, I've felt this desire in some form or another. It doesn't come in the form of simply a longing. It hits me when I hear a very American-ized, consumerist attitude about something or see a news story that expresses how far humanity has fallen. It hit me this weekend as I read about an elderly woman being trampled and a young boy being elbowed in the face in the midst of the Black Friday shopping stampedes. It hit me when I spent a day going through the debris and wreckage left behind in Washington, IL after a series of tornadoes swept the area. It hit me my email inbox was filled with reminders about Cyber Monday coming up. Is this really all there is left for us in society?
I can't imagine where America will be in just five years if we've already sold ourselves over to the need to have more, be better, earn more money, be recognized. I don't pretend to be above all of this. I'm just as guilty of buying into the American dream and always wanting the newest and best gadget around. I know that I've been swept into this mindset, but I don't want to stay in it. I don't want my mind and soul to be corrupted; I want more than this.
In so many ways, I feel that the people who live with next to nothing are living in greater splendor than I ever will. These people who struggle everyday to feed their families are living with a joy and hope that cannot be taken away from them. They worship the Lord with a fervor that can't be explained except by His Spirit at work within them. I want that! I want to be so full of the Spirit that I don't need material possessions to be happy. I want to live in want for a period of time so that I have no choice but to be entirely dependent on God. I want to learn to live with little so that I can live more fully, love more completely, and engage with others more deeply.
The more I've thought of this, the more I've felt the Lord leading my heart to nations overseas. I will soon be leaving the country for a month to spend time in the Philippines with a group of other students from Taylor University. I can't wait to see how God uses this time to grow me and my heart. If I've been feeling a calling to work overseas, this first opportunity for me to be there is huge. I pray that God will reveal to me whether I'm interpreting His leading correctly. Your prayers for this would be appreciated as well!
Ultimately, I've become dissatisfied with the culture in which I live. I engage in this culture and am fully a part of it too, but I want to change that. Right now, I don't know how, but I have the desire to change. And with time, I hope that change will come.
On a different note, if you would like more information about my upcoming trip to the Philippines or are interested in supporting my team and I as we go, please let me know! I would love to have you involved in the trip be it through prayer, a financial contribution or a donation of items that we can leave with the children and families we meet while we're there. We look forward to our trip, and I look forward to sharing all about it when I return!
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