Living and Learning the Great Commission

"Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority on heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'" (Matthew 28: 18-20)

As I sit at Starbucks and reflect on my first two weeks serving the Lord and His children here at Hephzibah Children's Home, I am amazed at how quickly they have gone. I feel as though yesterday I was pulling onto the campus for the first time filled with a flood of mixed emotions, unsure what the Lord was calling me to for the summer. It's only been two weeks, but He has taught me so much about learning to trust Him, love His children with His heart and seeing them with His eyes, and experiencing the pain of goodbyes when the hello happened only a few days before. I am so grateful for the lessons He has been teaching me as I follow Him on this path He has laid out before me. I end each day exhausted from loving the youngest children and their teenage mothers who for various reasons have been removed from their homes and placed in this residential group facility. I fall into bed each night with the prayer on my lips for physical, emotional and spiritual rest so I can take on the day that is about the unfold before me. And God has been faithful.

Throughout all these lessons, the biggest lesson I have felt Him pounding into my ever so thick skull these past two weeks is that I am not the only one serving Him this summer. I am not the only person struggling to figure out where it is He is calling me to. I am not the only person who believes that the ministry I am doing is direly important because this is the Lord's work. 

Everything is the Lord's work.

When Jesus presented His disciples with the Great Commission, He did not present it to them with specific names, types of ministry or organizations in mind. He did not tell them to go to all nations but especially this area because it's more important. Jesus did not limit the scope or spectrum of His commission to His followers. In Acts 1:8, Jesus tells the Apostles that they will be His "witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." 

"...to the ends of the earth."

The Lord has reminded me this week in particular that though the work He has led me to here in Macon is important and is where He desires me to be at this time, it is not the only work He is in the business of doing right now, As I scroll through my social media feeds, I am quickly reminded that I have friends serving Him diligently around the world to places where He has called them. This summer alone I have friends serving, who will serve, or who recently served in the Chicago area, North Carolina, Virginia, Cambodia, Italy, Haiti, Indianapolis, Orlando, China, the Dominican Republic of Congo, Birmingham, Ecuador, and numerous other areas that I could continue to list. 

I am not alone in my efforts to serve the Lord.

I am grateful for the Lord's reminder that it is not up to me to do all the work. He has called and equipped all of His faithful followers to partner in the work that He is doing around the world. And each one of us is called to do something different which is a beautiful image of the Body of Christ. We are in various parts of the world, serving in many different fields of work, and the Lord has called each one of us to this particular work. As He has called, so He goes with us and remains faithful in helping us complete the good work He has set before us.

"Again Jesus said, 'Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.' And with that he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'" (John 20:21-22)

Embodying Love

Having completed my first week as an intern with Hephzibah Children's Home, I have to say: I think I like it here. 

This week was filled with learning a lot of names, trying to get a handle on how life happens here on the campus where I'm living and working, figuring out what it means to live with two women I just met, and more. Through it all, I saw the Lord's hand working out the details and reminding me that I'm not walking through this journey alone. There have been moments in my life when I can't say His presence is clear to me, but this is not one of those times. Each time I find myself worrying, doubting or complaining, I feel the Father's comforting hand guiding me back so that my eyes are focused on Him once again. I know that if all else fails this summer, I am where He has called me to be.

This past Sunday I chose to visit a local church by myself as both my roommates happened to be out of town that morning. Walking through the doors of a new church alone is an intimidating feeling even as someone who has a commitment to walking with the Lord. I have new found respect for individuals who are searching for answers and enter into a foreign church on a Sunday morning. They are truly brave souls. This church opened their arms to me the moment I crossed the threshold into their facility. I had countless faces and names greet me and ask me to sit with them shaking my hand and giving it an extra squeeze to let me know that I was wanted in their church that morning. When the service was over and after another twenty minutes of talking with sweet women of the Lord, I promised them I'd return the following week, I have an invitation to join one woman at her home for lunch after the service and am invited to join a women's Bible study for the summer. This church family truly knows what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. I have no doubt I will build dear friendships with these prayer warriors while I am in Macon this summer.

On Monday morning, I had some paperwork and other formalities I needed to take care of before I could discover what my summer would look like in the Early Childhood and Parenting Program (ECP) working with teenage mothers and their children. As I was signing approximately 40-some sheets of paper, I was invited to join the weekly devotional and prayer meeting that is held every Monday morning and led by the Executive Director/COO of Hephzibah for any staff who would like to and is able to attend. This man who has an entire campus full of residents and staff to deal with took the time to meet me and invite me to join him and the other two interns in his office later that afternoon. When I met with them I discovered that he had assigned them a book to read about leadership. This meeting was the follow-up to discuss what they'd read and what he'd learned throughout his life. He then assigned us all another book to read in the coming month and scheduled another meeting. Before we left, he told us, "I am here to be an advocate for you." This man knows what it means to love the least of these, be it teenagers removed from their home with nowhere to live or unpaid interns working for him for a mere summer. 

As I think about these examples of tangible love in my life this week, I am reminded that the greatest commandment I have been given is to Love God and Love Others. My prayer this week is that as God uses me as He desires, I would learn to embody love as it is described in 1 Corinthians 13. I want to be someone who is patient, kind, not envious or boastful or proud. I want to be someone who honors others and seeks to serve them. I do not want to be easily angered or keep a record of wrongs. Instead, I want to rejoice in the truth, trusting, hoping, and persevering in faith that never ends. May I learn to be love to others as God is Love.

Beginnings and Endings Aren't Really So Different

(I can't imagine there are too many of you out there who actually frequent this blog on a regular basis, but if there are, I should begin by apologizing to you. It's been far too long since I've taken the time to sit down and share my thoughts and life with you, and as that is the main purpose of this blog, you have my apologies. Now, to the main event...)

Have you ever come to a point in your life where you've stepped into a new adventure? Maybe it's a new job, moving houses, moving states or even countries, advancing your education, or pursuing that dream that you set on the shelf years ago. Do you remember what it feels like? The whirlwind of emotions, both good and bad. Do you remember the confusion you felt? Asking if it was the right choice.

Well, I took the first step into a new adventure today. For the first time, I moved away from home for the summer, nine and half hours from home to be exact. This summer I've been given the immense opportunity to intern at Hephzibah Children's Home in Macon, Georgia and experience a glimpse of the future I feel the Lord calling me into. Words can't describe how grateful I am that I was chosen to partner with the individuals here at Hephzibah this summer and see the work the Lord is doing through them in the lives of teenagers in the heart of Macon. But like all new adventures, I've got some worries eating away at me as well.

I'm here, in my apartment for the summer, waiting. Waiting for a roommate to come home for the night. Waiting to meet my other roommate tomorrow. Waiting to find out what exactly I'll be doing this summer. Waiting to meet the residents I'll be working with. Waiting to see how the Lord is going to challenge me. Waiting to see if I'll be strong enough to take on the challenges He throws my way. Waiting.

I hate waiting.

Yet I am reminded in the Word that patience is valued by the Lord. Paul tells the church in Colossae in the third chapter of his letter to, "[p]ut on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience" (Colossians 3:12).

Right now, I am called to wait. As I put behind a school year that tested me in many ways and grew me in areas I was unaware I needed to grow in, I look ahead to a summer that I imagine will do the very same thing. The end to a hard year, though it was filled with beautiful friendships and the Father's great Love, brings me to the beginning of an unknown summer where friendships can carry over and the Father's Love is everlasting.

My prayer for this summer comes from the lyrics of Steve Fee:
"Take my life and let it be all for You and for Your glory.
  Take my life and let it be Yours."

If you think about me this summer, I ask you to pray those words alongside me. I think the Lord has great plans in store for me and for you as you read this. Let us allow ourselves to be used by Him for His Kingdom, for we serve a very great God!