This journey has been stretching. It's not a fantasy land of constant highs from the Holy Spirit. For me, it's actually the opposite. It's a road I'm walking filled with obstacles that I have to push away every single day………. temptations, distractions, homesickness, selfishness, pride…… the list goes on and on. I wake up everyday and the first thing I do is make the choice to follow Jesus. I make the choice that no matter what I'm going to face today, I'm going to walk with him.
As hard as this process is, I find myself at times completely in awe. I have moments that I literally can't put into words, so "Holy Crap, God is SO freaking good" becomes a common statement that runs through my head. I'm not talking about supernatural Holy Spirit moments when the blind see and the lame walk. I'm talking about those little moments that take your breath away…… you know, the moments we live for.
I live for the moments when I'm walking through the run down, dirty, busy streets of Albania with my new Albanian friends, while the sun is setting, laughing, joking, and you know….. just being friends. Last night as we were walking down the streets it was just me and all my Albanian friends hangin out. It seemed so normal. It was just……life. The Holy Spirit overwhelmed me in that small moment. I live for those moments.
I live for the moments when my new sister Emine buys me a pair of earrings as a surprise gift to show her love for me. The same girl whose mother just passed and is now left to take care of her siblings all on her own. The same girl who just recently used to collect trash to collect whatever small bit of money she could to feed her siblings. She bought ME a pair of earrings? This girl has absolutely become my sister this month. Sisters that make fun of each other, sisters that look up to one another, sisters who will love each other to the ends of the earth, and a sisters who already pray for the day The Lord will reunite them again.
I live for the moments when the young girl in church on Sunday cuddles up to me during the song and prayers. I get to hold her and cuddle her the rest of the church service as I run my fingers through her unwashed hair and smile and dance with her when the worship begins. Those big brown eyes that look deep into mine, and those stained small baby teeth that smile right into my soul……… I live for those moments.
I live for the moments when I begin cleaning our building we live in and the young girl who serves her family day in and day out insists on helping me….. the same girl whose family beats her on the daily. She grabs the broom from my hands and pushes me away as I try to clean the toilet. She wouldn't let me clean. She wanted too. Why? She doesn't get to go to school. She doesn't have a spare coin to buy a bus ticket for 30 cents. She doesn't have more than a few outfits. Why is she serving ME? Why?
I live for the moments when the men at the fast food restaurant we eat at everyday, hand me my food, look into my eyes, and say, "Zoti te Becofte.". For weeks we have come in daily to see these guys and order food from their family business. We couldn't communicate to speak their language, so I learned to say 'God Bless You' in Albanian so I could 'serve' and invest in them the only way I knew how. After weeks of saying "Zoti te Becofte" everyday as I walked out the door, the day they handed me my food and said, "Zoti te Becofte" became a moment I live for. Planting seeds of God's love……… one seed at a time.
I live for the moments when The Lord steals every single word from my mouth, which only leaves me to bask in his goodness. I live for the moments when I literally can't fathom his love and all I can do is smile and say, "Holy Crap. God is SO freaking Good."
But heres the catch…… You don't have to be traveling the World to bask in God's goodness. You can be anyone, anywhere, doing absolutely anything to just simply stop and receive the love of The Lord. He designed his love to have no limits. He designed his love to be felt at any moment for the rest of eternity. THAT'S how amazing the God that we serve is. Make the choice to wake up every single day and follow Jesus. Make the choice every single day to stop and find those moments that you live for….. The moments when you can't come up with anything better than, "Holy Crap. God is SO freaking good."
