So today is really my birthday...my spiritual birthday 9 years ago today I met Jesus and I began to truly live. God has a great way of celebrating with us and today was no exception.
I started my day off with a meeting with a fellow FREAK but not sure he would describe himself that way but he is a man who is deliberate about his faith and needs to say nothing about it-all you really need to do is watch. Of course most of the meeting was him listening to me go on and on about my JESUS FREAK mission and we (well I) talked for hours about the people I knew that inspired this journey and keep me accountable to it. He is a great listener and a great encourager-hes also a pastor but don't hold that against him.
My next stop was work and I am privileged to be working in a great place with amazing people who are serving the Lord. Our day started with alot of meetings and visitors that would be coming into the mission and trying to sort through all the donations that had piled up the last few days. After my morning meeting I could sense a tension in the mission that my FREAK senses were telling me something great is going to happen today and the devil is trying to mess with it!I was right-unfortunately and as we started to gather to pray before we opened the doors we could See by those eagerly in front of the line that our patience was going to be challenged. Of course we prayed for protection and for patience (boy i never learn) and spoke out loud about our knowledge of something great that was about to happen-I was letting the enemy know that God was on our side and we mean business. As we opened the doors and people flooded in one of them who can be a particular challenge to us had arrived but with a child today. We immediately prepared ourselves for the extra item-taking and "finger-wagging" that we normally do but as we did that this little girl approached the desk where i was sitting and around her neck she had a recorder-you know the kind they used to make you play in Grade 4. She just stared at me for a while and then said "my name is Helen." I said " wow so is mine!" she didn't believe me at first and insisted on some sort of I.D but I was able to identify myself with proof through the many people who know me there. She began to show me how she cleans her recorder and said she can play it very well but hadn't played this summer because she had been going to VBS and learning the keys to Gods heart. She told us she was here with her grandmother and it was helpful because now she could explain clearly to her the "rules" of the place and our experience became much nicer. Helen took the time to ask for a pen and began to write on a piece of paper we have beside the prayer box and placed it inside. We waved good bye and i thanked her for teaching me all about her recorder but I learned a much greater lesson. When I opened her prayer from the prayer box it read "God thank-you for looking after us AMEN" This JESUS FREAK journey was a little painful today. I was reminded from that little girl that we don't know why people are in need but it doesn't matter we are called as FREAKS to serve-that's all serve-not judge-serve. God clearly is taking my commitment to this JESUS FREAK journey seriously-ouch.
I also sat in on a get to know and prayer session when I introduced my friend and pastor to 2 women from the mission community who are sisters and live together now because one of them is dying. She is too ill to live alone so now relies on her sister daily for help. She is palliative now and was seeking some prayer and comfort and knew we could find one of those pastors somewhere. As we huddled in the room that served as the bedroom,kitchen and living room I was in awe of this celebration of faith as a woman who knows her time is soon but takes in her last moments to ask for an ice cream cone before we begin to read scripture. We all listened as the pastor read from his bible and prayed for both woman. It was a living breathing JESUS FREAK moment in that tiny apartment when the 4 of us together in prayer, 2 eating ice cream and 2 honoured to be invited in.The sisters didn't take in his words because he said them but because he spent the bulk of his time there asking questions and getting to know them. His words, the scripture meant something more. It was more than just words.
My celebration of 9 years wasn't over although I was already exhausted by His amazing moments He had taken me on to this point in the day. We receive a visit from our friend who is taking pictures from a project and is gracious enough to let me run around this crazy God-filled day and taught me about humility and grace and that was all of 30 seconds of this day. I love her.She loves to serve. What else can I say. She knew I had no time for her today yet she stayed and worked and hugged me good bye. A pastor from a church outside town who is talking about a church plant also came in and by this time I could lie. He asked how my day was and i said this is what God has done today....... and yes he got it all. Again gracious enough to let me talk and simply said what can our church do for you? My day wasn't even done then-I am not even kidding! As i am finishing my conversation with this visiting pastor a volunteer says " sorry to interrupt but there is a man outside you need to meet" so I went of course I went this was like the longest birthday of my life! I step into the store and a man greets me and we shake hands. He said he brought this son who is visiting him for the week and he is showing him all the places in the city that are serving the Lord. He asked about our little mission and I gave him the shortest answer I could but I did tell him that today was a great celebration of the birth of my life in Jesus and I said" so i guess really the birth of my obedience to God in stepping out for Him with naive spirit but a willing heart" He asked to pray for me and the mission. So I said yes. And he did-not a quiet in the corner prayer but a loud right there in the middle of the room in front of all those people prayer- a JESUS FREAK prayer oh how I longed for this to be a part of the missions experience again! The room went silent and although i knew eyes were rolling i didn't care there was a great sense the JESUS filled that room with a tangible spirit that everyone felt. It was intoxicating. It was a bolt of electricity from the KINGDOM this whole day for me and I can feel the FREAK returning!
Thank-you God for who you are and thank-you for your son and the spirit-the whole lot of yas!
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