Let It Be to Me...

It's been pretty chill around here recently so I don't really have much to write.  I've just been handing out fritters to the school children a couple days a week and playing with the kids from the orphan home for about an hour almost every day of the week.  We had a beautiful Christmas service at church where the children sang and expressed the true Christmas message: that Jesus came to give us the gift of life!  So for lack of exciting news, I'm going to post a little song I'm writing instead, its not finished yet, but here goes...

There is peace in Your footsteps and life in Your hands,
Joy in Your presence where by Your mercy I stand,
So I stand here boldly asking one thing,
O Lord let it be to me as You please.

Many are the plans O Lord You have for me,
And I will follow Your voice even when I can't see,
For You alone are good, You're faithful and true,
O Lord let it be to me as You please.

I will stand in the fire and stand in the rain,
But I will fear no evil nor any pain,
For I know Your love and so I can sing,
O Lord let it be to me as You please.

This is my song of surrender,
My song of release,
O Lord let it be to me as You please.

The Greatest Commandment

Over the past couple weeks I've had some time to think.  School ended last Friday with a big party which included lots of games, prizes, and beautiful smiling faces.  So this entire week I've been recovering from a sinus infection, playing with the kids from the orphan home, and, well, thinking or praying.  Contemplation can be a dangerous thing if left to its own devices, but in this case it has been quite beneficial.  You see, I've been praying about "serving" God.  What does that look like?  What does that mean?  I know, sounds weird coming from someone living in sub-Saharan Africa, but those are the questions I've been asking.  And I came to some interesting conclusions... "If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames but have not love, I gain nothing" -1 Cor 13.  "No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends" -John 15.  "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself" -Matt 22.  So here's the friendly reminder I received, God is not looking for servants who will cause His kingdom to come.  He is perfectly capable of that all by Himself.  He is looking for sons and daughters who will act without being told what to do because they have the motivation of pure love.  He is looking for sons and daughters who don't notice the difficulties or the time spent or the hardships because they aren't seeking a reward, they are seeking a person, a relationship with someone they love.  What does it look like to serve God?  Well, "we love because He first loved us" -1 John 4.  From what I gather, serving God looks a little something like soaking in His love and then pouring it back out to Him and to the rest of His children.  Not only is it the most pleasant way to serve Him but I am convinced that it is also the only sustainable way.
Grace and Peace