God created the Heavens and the Earth and even before I became a Christian I knew that that was the case. But one thing that was not clear in my mind was that the same God who created this beautiful world also created me and thinks even more highly of man than He does the other things He created. As I mentioned in my last blog, I had my friend Ashley pray for more confidence in me at the beginning of the month. To be honest, I actually forgot she prayed that into me but the Lord heard those prayers and answered them without me even knowing it.
As you have seen from my pictures, our location in Malawi was beyond amazing! The sun rising over Mozambique and Lake Malawi and setting over the mountains happenedevery day but each sunrise was so unique compared to the next one. As the month went on, I continued to find a more intimate way to worship the Lord through His creation. Nothing crazy happened when I watched the sunrises but I just stood in awe most of the time and felt as if I was in an art studio and God was the painter justelegantly piecing together the morning sky. With each paint stroke, I felt it was better than the next; He loved having me watch, knowing it would take my breath away. I loved it so much but had no clue what God was really doing within me, until I shaved my face.
I grew my beard out for three months, just because it’s fun to do on the World Race. What’s funny is how God can even work on someone’sinward self with outward things. At the end of the month, I shaved and cut my hair, and I looked like a new person. (If you don't believe me, check out my Facebook pictures, it is intense.) But it was not my physical appearance that was the real change; it was me realizing that although the sky is beautiful, the Lord thinks so much more highly of His children than the sky, the ocean, the terrain, and the animals (although they are pretty sweet too) . He has been whispering that to me for over a year now but it finally clicked inside my head.
I have been praying to see like God sees, hear like He hears, feel like He feels, and love like He loves; and until thismoment I did not see myself as His beautiful creation but just as a child that He knows. By using the beauty of His creation, he showed me that I too have the same qualities that make a sunrise stunning – the fingerprints of my Creator. The Father knows me and He loves me because He created me; He knew me from the beginning of time as His beloved son. This is truth, but I didn’t necessarily believe it; I didn’t have confidence in the truth that God’s glory resides in me. “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me,” (Galatians 2:20).
I have realized that without Christ I would never be happy. The world tells you that you need to fit into this mold and by the time you finally reach said goal, it already has changed; but Christ in me is never changing and will look the same whether I cut my hair every two weeks or only have half a head of hair. He loves us all the same no matter how we look or what we wear. When you look at the next sunrise and are captivated by its beauty, remember that the Lord is so delighted by the beauty He sees in His children.
Where is Anthony??
Thanks for sharing in this journey with me! I still need $3382 to be fully funded, so if you or anyone you know might be willing to support me financially, I would be so grateful. I challenge you to share this need with your friends and family. Spread the word!
Their smiles are so contagious.
