Tuesday, July 2, 2013

All the Poor and Powerless

I just finished "Kisses from Katie" last night.  Throughout this book,  I have cried many times.  Tears of sadness for the living conditions in Jinja and Masese.  Tears of happiness as the children and people of Jinja and Masese come to know Jesus and sometimes where faith is renewed.   

Every one has said this book is a good read...but I see it as so much more than that.  It is a call to live for others.  Not for ourselves.  It is a call to give up our lifestyles of extravagance and comfort so that others may be able to eat, receive medical care, and go to school.  Now, I am not saying that we all need to pack up and go to Africa.  No, that doesn't make sense.  But, that's not saying that we can't all contribute.  People like Katie and organizations like Amazima need support, financially and prayerfully. 

Like I said in my last post, I am also reading "Follow Me" by David Platt.  I feel that these two books go hand in hand.  Katie did just that.  She, throughout her young life, has done all that God has asked her to do.  Although, at times she compared to getting her 3-year-old in the bath.  Katie, as a parent, knows best for her child.  She knows that her child must bathe for her hygiene and health but little Grace doesn't go easily.  She goes kicking and screaming...until she is in the bath.  Until she remembers...baths are fun and she actually likes them.  Which is kind of what it's like when our Father is telling us to do something that is for our own good even though, we really don't want to.  Then, after we get to the place He is asking us to go, we remember this feels good and right and it was what's best for us.  In the end, she says, it's about obedience.  Just as Grace doesn't want to obey because she thinks she should be able to make her own decisions, as are we as we think we know what's best for us and what we should do.      

I am still working on what this will look like for me.  I do feel something stirring in my Spirit right now.  I need to do something.  I am not just going to sit here when all of this stuff is going on in the world.  I believe that God will do big works through all of us...if we will just let Him.  So, I am praying right now for Him to tell me where to go and what to do.  As a new friend told me, "you just need to trust and listen and move."