I had a rough morning the other day. I just felt worn out.
I was debating not going to ministry because I just felt tired and didn’t really want to minister to anyone, to be honest. After going back and forth for a bit, I decided to suck it up and go. Before leaving, I had some time so I flipped open my Bible and landed on Matthew 11:28-30.
“Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
God does this a lot for me; I can just open up my Bible randomly and he speaks to me through the first verse that my eyes land on.
Thankful for this reminder of God being the source of my rest, I headed out the door to go to Camp Joy. For some reason, all the other girls in the group went to Phumlani for the day, so I was the only girl going to Camp Joy.
The men and women at Camp Joy stay very separated, so when we got there I walked back to the girls’ room by myself, not really knowing what to expect. All the girls were lying in their beds when I walked in. I introduced myself and asked if I could sit with them for the afternoon. I sat on one of the beds and slowly, but surly each of the girls came over to me.
We talked about general things for a bit, and then they started to open up to me. They started telling me their stories. I sat on the bed and just cried listening to them. One of the girls had just arrived that morning and was wrapped in a blanket next to me. She had been badly beaten the night before by her boyfriend and described running for her life, knowing that she had to make a change. A pastor took her to Camp Joy to help her fight for a new life. I was overwhelmed by these women, fighting for change.
We had such an amazing afternoon in that room. Beyond sharing stories, the Lord allowed me to speak his truth and love over these girls. Not only that, he used them to minister to me. They were so encouraging to me and were truly used by the Lord. I felt like I was hanging out with good friends. They did my hair and we laughed about silly things. We had some good girl talk. It was such a refreshing time and is probably my favorite day of ministry on the Race so far.
As I was sitting there, it hit me that I am no different than these girls. Even though we are in such different circumstances, we really aren’t that different. They have made some mistakes. So have I. They are fighting for change. So have I. They are dearly loved by a Father who sees them as his perfect daughters. So am I.
As I was getting ready to leave I looked up above one of the girls and saw this posted on the wall:
Sometimes God doesn’t just speak to you about his love and refreshment. He shows you.
