Today I went to check the mail in our office (which also happens to be my place of residence) and I had 2 letters in my box! The excitement has begun because I usually get bills (the low point of being an adult). I open the first one to find an encouraging card from one of the parents of our teens here.
If you do not know I work for a ministry that is a residential facility for at-risk teens. It is a hard place to live and work but it is so beautiful to see the Lord begin to work in their lives, and we often get to see His transformation! Most days are good, but some days it seems hopeless, it is then when I realize that i cannot change these teens, I need to release them into the care of the Lord. Our Father is so great, He is the ultimate provider and healer and today He showed me a piece of that.
The letter was from a father of a teen, he encouraged me in working with these girls, and to not give up. He reminded me to walk along side them...isn't that what discipleship is? Walking along side one another. He told me if they could ever help me in any way, I could just ask.
God is so good, that is just the encouragement i needed today!
The next letter I opened was from my aunt. She has the most caring heart of anyone I have ever met, and she also happens to be extremely poor. She has learning disabilities, and poor health which makes it hard for her to make much money. She wrote me just to catch up and to let me know she had been praying for me. Along with the card she gave me a HUGE check. Something I know she cannot afford.
Now before she sent that I had been worrying about finances, which I had recently presented to the Lord. I gave it to him and stopped worrying about how I would survive. Just as I gave up control, it allowed God to work! Amazing how that works. I immediately started bawling, not only did he provide, but He did it in the most unlikely way. I was humbled right then and there, crying in the office at my job, completely blown away by my aunt and my God!
This reminded me about what I am recently learning in regards to living a simple life and giving more than what I have been given. I desire my life to be one of passion and a testament of how Jesus lives...I just hope I stay encouraged in this area because as American Christians I think we can easily get drawn to comfort and material.
It reminded me in scripture of this story (NASB of course)
Luke 21
1And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury.
2And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins.
3And He said, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them;
4for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on."
My verse right now is this:
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
