Well, two months young or not, our gal went with me to Panama City for our fall retreat yesterday. She was SUCH a good traveler! I'm so relieved; Brad and I were a little hesitant about taking her, but I'm so glad we did! Addison and I didn't do the whole thing: we decided that two nights in a random retreat center on the beach with a bunch of middle and high schoolers may be a bit much. :) So she and I were gone for about 24 hours. I timed when we left so that she'd take her nap while I drove, and we made great time. She was happy and sweet during the first worship service, and even fell asleep during the sermon. The kids loved playing with her during breaks, and she napped during the small group sessions. We even followed the kids to the beach and stayed up late for square dancing! (By the way, props to John Wiggins for dressing up as "Brad" for the event... Brad's not exactly a hillbilly, but I definitely got the joke!)
I'm always so thankful that Addison is such an easy baby, but I was especially this weekend. Chris Brooks, the college minister at Calvary Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa and a friend of ours, was the speaker. I'm thankful for his gift every time we hear him. I was in need of a challenging, convicting sermon and worship service, and I got two! (Well, I missed most of the second one because Addie wasn't feeling too hot, but I heard a good portion.) Not only that, but at the end of last night's worship time, I saw some of the most beautiful things God designed: kids putting hands and feet and voice to their faith.
Chris encouraged students (and adults) to vocalize to the whole group some things they needed prayer for, and then had those around them stand to pray aloud and place their hands on them. There were 5 or 6 groups boldly standing and praying aloud for others... some of the kids were praying for and loving on others who weren't even their friends. Perhaps as adults we look at that and think it's not much, but it takes guts and faith to do that, no matter how old you are. The worship leader continued singing and playing, and kids continued praying. I was moved to tears-not that it's unusual for me to cry, but it was beautiful. I stood in the back, with my baby monitor to my ear, praying that God would be honored in the aftermath of this retreat.
I'm so proud of many of our youth for their insight in discussion and love for each other. Over the course of the day I heard several ask questions about how to put their faith into action. What if we know all about what the Bible says but have no idea what that looks like in real life? Guess what guys: most adults don't know what that should look like. We have this picture in our head, maybe, of what our parents' lives looked like, or our youth pastor or something, but that doesn't mean that's what it should look like for you or for me. This is a process that we must work out individually, for our entire lives. I was honored to be a part of their discussion, and then later to see them act out Christ's love for their peers.
Here are a few thoughts from the day, from either one of the discussion session leaders or Chris. I hope they'll cause you to think twice about your own busy life and how you're living it. I know I am.
What's God's will for my life? His will is for us to become like Jesus. We already have instructions for how to do this in daily things-it's called the Bible. But if we're not obeying Him or seeking Him out in scripture or prayer, there's no reason for God to reveal His will to us any further.
If you're asking God "What do you want me to do?" perhaps He's asking you what you want... We need to be willing to answer our own questions.
We will be disappointed with our lives if we go through it saying "I wish I had so-and-so's story." We need to learn how to own our own stories, no matter what crosses we have to bear.
Mother Theresa once said, "I've never had clarity from God... I just trust Him daily." God's goal is not to give us clarity and purpose, but to develop in us an unwavering faith, so we can become Christ-like.
Many of us would score a 100% on a Christianity test, but have no idea how to commune with God daily.
*This one hit home with me.
Can I still worship and serve God if all I have is an empty plate? Can I honestly go through life saying "The Lord gives and He takes away. In all things, blessed be the name of the Lord." Perhaps what the world needs to see is more Christians at their lowest point who still praise Him. ~Amen
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