As of yesterday, my squad and I have been in Quito, Ecuador for two weeks. My time here has already been such a time of growth, connection, and boldness. My team and I are working in a school in the city of Quito called T.W. Anderson. Each of us are focusing on different age groups, I get to work with sophomores and seniors. It´s such a joy, not just teaching English, but building relationships with our students.
Though, I´m loving my time with all of our students, there was one in particular last week that I cannot stop thinking about.
Last week, Alyssa, Chloe and I were eating in the lunch room with a group of Alyssa´s middle schoolers. The 4 of them were giddy, listening to us try to speak basic spanish to them. One boy in particular made it clear that he knew English. In excitement, the 3 of us started getting to know him. When we asked him his name and a little bit about himself, he responded saying, ¨I´m David. I´m a miracle child.¨
At first, my team smiled at eachother. We asked him why, wondering what it took to be a miracle child. He then went into a detailed story of his mother, unable to have children, traveling to Israel. She had the sole purpose of praying for a child. We sat in awe, holding onto every word David said to us about his mother´s journey to get what she knew God intended for her life. He told the story as if he had said and heard it a million times. Of course, the story ended with her coming home and being pregnant with David. After he was done, he went right back eating his sandwich and laughing with his friends. Though this was a simple interaction, The Lord has been continuously laying a question on my heart since then.
¨What if all of my children saw themselves as the miracle child?¨
How different would our lives look if daily, we gave glory to the God who gave us life instead of death? Lately, I´ve been going through the motions of ministry, time with my squad, and even my relationship with God. Not giving Him glory for all He´s done for me. Not giving Him glory for picking me up out of my sea of brokeness. Not giving Him credit in the time of sharing my love with students and allowing me to do the World Race.
Often, I think we as people, try to make ourselves our own God, worshipping our good deeds and forgetting all God has done for us to get us where we are. Today, during my quiet time between classes, I was overwhelmed with delight for my King. Thanking Him for giving me the oppurtunity to speak life into students and be a vessel for Him in Quito.
Do you want to know my favorite part of David´s story? He gave all the credit to his mom and her favor in the Lord. He didn´t say, ¨Yes, I´m the miracle child because I do well in school and I´m nice to my friends.¨ All the credit went to his mother, he was just a part of the journey.
Reader, let us never forget that God loved us first. Before we could do anything for Him, He chose us. In John 15, Jesus reminds the people by saying ¨Remember, you did not choose me, I chose you.¨ We are just here for the journey with our King. I learned quite a bit from the 5 minutes with the miracle child, but I feel what God was mostly trying to show you and I is to step into our inheritance of being sons and daughters to the King. He has made us new, and guess what, He wants the glory. Let us daily humble ourselves before the King.
David had a quiet confidence about him. I could tell that even if my team and I would have laughed and told him he was wrong after he told us his story, he would have stood firm in the journey of his mother, trusting in the truth that he´s been reminded of time and time again, ¨You are the miracle child.¨ It doesn´t matter what mistakes he´ll make in his life, his mother will still see him as God´s gift to her.
What a testiment of God and us. We are not miracle children because we go to church on Sundays or teach an Engligh class in Ecuador. But, each an everyone of us are miracle children because of the Father´s love and sacrifice for us.
Believe it, share it to the world, and give Him all the glory. You are a miracle child.
