Things have been incredible over on this side of the world. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t feel the presence of God overflowing my heart. God has been blessing me so well this past month and half in Thailand. I love this country with all my heart. Each day holds a new adventure, a new way to see God. Each day is a new chance to love deeper, to give more grace, and to find the beauty in the crazy life God has so graciously given me.
I have been finding that getting to be a part of His grand plan is one of the greatest things I have ever done in my life. Something that has been coming up over and over in my head is the fact that God doesn’t need me. He doesn’t need me to abandon a comfortable life and fly halfway across the world to tell people of His goodness. He could do that in the blink of an eye if He wanted to. But the thing is, God wants me to be a part of His plan. He desires for me to be His hands and feet on this earth. He longs for me to take His hand and say yes to His unfathomable love and to follow wherever he leads me. How sweet is that? The creator of the universe, that loves me as if I were the only person in the world, desires for me to go out and share of His love to the rest of the world. He has called me to be a part of something so much bigger than myself and I can’t help but accept that call with a joyous heart. My sweet dad shared this beautiful poem by St. Teresa of Avila and I want to share it with all of you.
Christ Has No Body
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
I believe this poem is such a testament not only to this race but to how we should all live our lives. We are His hands and His feet. We are the ones who must bring the good news to those near and far. We are the church and we must be the ones to build the kingdom on this earth. In how we live, how we act, and how we love. It is just a daily reminder to me that we must show Christ’s love to everyone we meet. We must be Christ to each person we encounter so that they may come to know him by our love and our actions. We must be love in its truest form.
As always, God is doing big things and it has been such a blessing to be a part of them here in Thailand. God has even bigger plans for me than I thought, go figure, and I’m super excited to share that my squad and I will be spending our last month in Asia serving the people of Cambodia! Although my heart is deeply saddened at the thought of leaving the Thai people who have so quickly become family a whole month early, I am overjoyed by the thought that I get to be God’s hands and feet to even more people that I thought. What I have found is a life with Jesus is unlike anything. He will make you do crazy things like go to the opposite side of the world just to spread His love. But I have also found that there is nothing I would rather do. There is no life I would rather be living than a life with Christ. So I am giving myself fully and completely to Him and am open to whatever He has for me this upcoming month in Cambodia! Prayers for the people of Cambodia that they would have open hearts and open minds to the good news we have to share with them. Prayers for my squad and I as we venture into the unknown and dive deeper into this great adventure with the Lord.
God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good. That one’s for you Father Izzy.
Sending all my love from Thailand,
Reya
