Photo by Natasha Firooznia
I'm currently sitting at a picnic table looking out over the Nile River. It's beautiful and I am so blessed!
This is our month 9 debrief. At the end of each month, our squad gathers together to recap the month, worship together, and relax together. This month, we are spending three days at a camp along the Nile. It wasn't what I expected. Honestly, I know nothing about the Nile, except that people raft it and it's in the Bible. I should probably do a little research at some point and maybe I will, but for now, I'm just enjoying its beauty. It's calm and quiet and there's an occasional bird flying over it. Some of the greenest trees I've ever seen surround it. I guess technically it's probably Lake Victoria (or so I've heard), but since the Nile runs into Lake Victoria, I figure it's all one and the same, right? Anyway, equally as beautiful!
This is the perfect place to end our month as I ponder the things I've been learning, the things God has been teaching me.
One of the things that has shocked me the most on this journey is the amount of down time we've had. For example, this month, we only "worked" a couple hours a day. The rest of our day was free to do whatever we wanted. At first, I was frustrated by it, by the fact that I'm not serving to the fullest, that I came to serve 24/7, not just a couple hours a day. I couldn't understand why I was here serving God two hours each day in ministry when I could be serving Him at home, at my school eight + hours a day, in my church, etc. Why was I even here?
And then God reminded me that ministry has no time restraints. Ministry is a constant. It's not scheduled. Ministry is having a conversation with the little girl you meet at the taxi stop. It's praying for a teammate who is having a bad day. It's playing cards with the boy who lives in the house with you. Ministry can happen in your own home, as I'm learning from my parents. I think I've been putting ministry in a box, when really, every interaction matters and there are so many opportunities for ministry all around me, wherever I am.
I've also been learning a lot about resting in the Lord, spending time with Him. My schedule when I get home is going to be crazy. Teacher orientation starts approximately a week after I get home and I'm exhausted just thinking about all I'm going to have to do (though I am super excited to be heading back into the classroom). Right now, I have time to rest, time to spend with the Lord. While my schedule allows it, I want to make spending time with the Lord in prayer, worship, and Bible study a priority, so that it is a habit, it is part of my daily routine when I go home. It's so easy to stop resting in Him when life gets busy, but that's when I need to rest with the Lord the most.
In my time of resting with the Lord, He has been bringing the Bible to life! I can't tell you how many times I've heard, read, and even taught the story of Creation! I even had the opportunity to see it as depicted by Sight and Sound theater. It was an incredible production. But as I read the story the other day, I tried to picture God placing the moon and the stars, dividing the land and water, and it was too incredible to even imagine. Our God, the Creator, is SO powerful! So powerful, that I can't even picture the things He has done. I've found it so easy to simply read the Bible as a story and forget about the power God shows in all of it. I forget how powerful He is. But He is reminding me that He is truly ALL-POWERFUL and His greatness, no one can fathom!
So, my challenge to you today: read the first couple chapters of Genesis. Just try to picture God as He creates the world. Your mind will be blown as you see the greatness of God!
Psalm 145
A psalm of praise. Of David.
1 I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name for ever and ever.
2 Every day I will praise you
and extol your name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
4 One generation commends your works to another;
they tell of your mighty acts.
5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.[b]
6 They tell of the power of your awesome works—
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
8 The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
9 The Lord is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
10 All your works praise you, Lord;
your faithful people extol you.
11 They tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
12 so that all people may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises
and faithful in all he does.
14 The Lord upholds all who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand
and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all he does.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.
