I’ve rewritten this line countless times. I don’t even know how to put my
feelings into mere thoughts, nevertheless words. Bare with me friends.
I have a mad obsession with Romans 10:15. “How beautiful are the feet of those
who bring good news.” This verse
refers to Isaiah 52:7, “ How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those
who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim
salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’”
Mine
started in Arlington, TX, then they moved to Mansfield, TX, then to Lubbock,
TX, now to Denver, CO. They’ve
also been to Europe, Mexico, California, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana,
Kentucky and several other states. At this moment they are free of shoes and
relaxing under a tree at a really pretty park.
This week I am working with a group who is leading a VBS at
a church outside of Denver. They
make my job easy, because they have everything planned, so I get to do more
observing than normal and I am so thankful for that. The VBS is for children ages 5-12, but we’ve had a few 3 and
4 year olds show up and you will hear no complaining from me because my heart has been longing to hold a young child.
Yesterday, as I was sitting back watching my group lead the kids in
silly VBS songs, I found myself STARRING at all the children’s feet. I do not know where those small feet
have been, but I became so overwhelmed with joy for each pair. There is no way of knowing where they
will go, but I am brought to tears knowing that they have endless opportunities
in front of them. All I know about
these kids is that they love coloring and more than that they love candy; I do
not know where they come from or how fake some of their smiles maybe, but today
I got to watch them jump up and down, dance, run in circles. I got to watch them get caught behind
each other causing the child to fall down, I watched them walk with purpose and
halt to a stop when told to slow down.
I pray for their feet; I hope they grow to deliver the good news talked
about in Romans & Isaiah, I pray that as they grow up and out of this sweet
stage of innocence that they travel to places where they can learn, develop
opinions on the world, hike to beautiful places that refresh their minds and
ultimately that they would constantly be searching for a new adventure.
Eyes.
Mine have seen Cathedrals that took over 250 years to
build, 5-foot stingrays, the Earth from the top of mountains, love stories
unfold, redemption, PURE laughter, new life and on and on. I pray that God would give me His eyes
(for just one second, give me your eyes so I can see… :)) and He has been faithful to
that. Everyday I am in Denver He
shows me something new. Besides
seeing some pretty incredible things He has given me the chance to see heartache,
brokenness, complete hopelessness and more. As much as those things pain me, I am thankful for
them. For the longest time I did
not know how to embrace the marginalized, He has more than changed that.
Two nights ago my group served with Mean Street Ministries,
a ministry that goes door to door to motels off of Colfax delivering burritos
and asking for prayer requests. We
pulled up to the first motel and behind this bush comes running the prettiest
little girl I have ever seen in my whole life. I will NEVER forget her face. She came running up to the bus, anxious to see whom we were
and what gifts we were bearing.
She was covered in dirt; head to toe. Her clothes were stained, torn and filthy. She wore a pink shirt with a skirt that
looked a few sizes too small. Her
hair was long, curly & dark.
Her smile completely took over her face and then there were her eyes; big, blue and beautiful.
Not much can compare to looking into the eyes of a child. If I've learned anything in my communication classes it's that looking into someones eyes communicates compassion. After delivering burritos I walked over to this child and talked with her. She showed me her bear, then blushed when I told her how pretty she was. Those eyes were hopeful; despite the fact that she looked as if she had not been bathed in a week, despite the fact that her care takers did not take notice of her when she was begging for their attention by running in the street, despite the fact that she was running around a dumpster for fun. My eyes were protected from the things my parents did not want me to see at a young age, and I am thankful to them for that. I was broken as we pulled out of the parking lot, and God reminded me that she has all the same opportunities I had when I was her age. I told Him, "But she probably does not have parents who care for her the way mine did. She's getting ignored and he childhood is being taken away from her." God then did something really cool, He told me that no matter what her living situation is, where she comes from, who her parents are or what she has seen, He made her eyes and He has things He is going to show her. Touche God, touche.
Hands.
My
prayer this week is that the Lord would allow me to lay hands on His
people. Ask, seek, knock; the Lord
will deliver. She was at the second motel we stopped and she refused to tell me her name. This woman had a tough demeanor to her that was almost
intimidating, but not intimidating enough to turn me away. She had a rough face and her hands were trembling. She told myself and the
other two in my group that her family (3 children and boyfriend) were going to
be kicked out of their motel room on Thursday. We told her that we would love to pray with her, but she insisted that she was not the one who needed prayer, her children were. We kneeled down to
her level, held hands and prayed a simple prayer. We asked the Lord to keep her children safe and to lay His
hand of protection over their lives.
We asked Him to make His presence known and with a somber “amen” I
looked up to see God DEMOLISHING the walls His child had built up. I got to physically watch hope and
tears fill the eyes of this woman.
Praise the Lord for not only allowing me to clasp my hand together with
this woman's, but for interceding on my behalf to bring glory to Him and hope to
His beloved child.
I have spent the last 3 days desperately trying to write out the things the Lord is teaching me. Backspace after backspace, after cut & paste; this does not do what the Lord is doing in my heart justice. Just know that God is good and there is A LOT going on in my heart.
Here are some pictures from our VBS. These children's willingness and innocence are what have kept me so joyful this week.
