Before my good friend Amanda was to be married, she wanted to gather together as many of the important women in her life she could and spend a weekend together. This wasn’t your typical bachelorette party. It is more accurate to say it was a retreat where we all were able to enjoy each other’s company and praise God of what He had done in our lives and what He was doing in Amanda’s. During this time together, one of the women, Denise, gave us a small bible study to do together. She asked us to focus on the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Then, we were to pick one that we believed we could really work on displaying more of in our lives. We were even given stones on which we could write our chosen word on and carry home with us to remember our desire to grow. I decided to pick love with 1 Corinthians 13 in mind. 1 Corinthians 13:2 says, “If I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so that I can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.” Love is important. Paul is saying here in 1 Corinthians that love should be at the root of all we do or say. I wanted to become better at pursuing and loving others well. I wanted to love all those God put in front of me without getting caught up in whether or not these people would return my affections. I didn’t want my motivation to simply be being well liked by many. I had no idea just how God would decide to answer me and challenge me in this desire back in November.
Flash forward to me deciding to apply and being accepted for The World Race. I now can see this is God’s answer to that desire in part. I have been given the chance to pursue and love all of my friends, family, and community as I get ready for this trip. I am also being given the chance to love on total strangers as I journey to all the countries on my route: Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, and Greece.
God is so good! He quietly weaves desires into our hearts that He then begins to write into our lives in the most unexpected ways! The author of our lives is very creative!
What desires has God placed into your heart?
Have you begun to see Him open doors and challenge you?
If not, don’t hesitate to ask Him for the desire to see His will fulfilled in your life.
John 16:24 “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive and your joy will be complete.” – Jesus
