I stand here tonight in the back of a concrete room filled with people. This room is found on the first floor of a foundation in Medellin, Columbia. It is packed with chairs filled with people. Some are volunteers, some are homeless, some are world racers, a few are volunteers from other places all around the world and others are part of a drug and alcohol recovery program here. A line of us sit in the back on the floor as there are no more available chairs.
The service starts with half an hour of prayer. People all around me are found on their knees, tears are being shed by some, other people are standing with arms wide open singing praises to the Lord. Some are praying along, some are sitting in a position to receive. After prayer we begin to worship. Hands go up, people are shouting amen, hugs are being given, more tears come to some, and the spirit is found in every inch of the room.
This is the moment that brings me to tears. This is the moment that I look around me and ask myself how can I be so lucky. The women that are a part of the recovery program that I have been pouring into for the last three weeks are smiling, clapping, and praising OUR God. Some of the homeless members of the community are on their feet, hands in the air praising OUR God. One in particular has his arm around one of my squad mates cheering and jumping, smiling bigger then we had ever seen before. This squad member in particular has been pouring into this man for 3 weeks now and he came to church, after years of feeling rejected, not clean enough, and that he just didn’t belong.
As tears fill my eyes I can’t help but ask how am I so lucky? How can I the one that is here in this moment experiencing these things?
The more I experience these things and see our Lord move I am reminded of his pure grace and mercy. How amazing it is to see that these people are loved, supported and forgiven by the same God that has loved and forgiven me? Watching the way that some of these people literally lay it all down for the Lord I feel so small that I would be able and deserving to stand alongside them and worship. Even after all that they have been through, the way that they surrender and receive is awe inspiring. That is where I want to strive to be. I want to be so broken that the Lord is all that I have to hold on to. I want to strive so deeply for the Lord that I can’t help but be brought to tears just by being in his presence.
