Last Sunday my team was invited to go to a local Indonesian church with our friend Yosi and her aunt. This particular service was at 5 pm. The morning of the service I woke up to a text in our group message with all eleven of us girls. It said that Yosi’s aunt asked if one of us would be willing to serve the kids at church by giving the children’s message with a translator. My initial reaction was, “Wow I feel bad for whoever gets stuck doing that with such short notice.”
Our group met at noon to worship and pray over the day and talk about other logistical team things. The question was asked again if anyone would be willing to volunteer to come up with a program for the kids that evening. Now, if you know me, you know that the words “mature” and “serious” are quite literally the opposite of my personality. My squad knows me for making up games on the spot and carting around my “fun fun bag of fun” because God forbid I be bored for five minutes of my life. That being said, when the question was asked about who could serve the kids, ten sets of eyes were on me. One of the overused phrases that gets thrown around like confetti on the World Race is “have a yes in your spirit.” So I rolled my eyes a little bit (I’m working on not doing that so much) and said, “I can do it” without having a clue what I was getting myself into.
I had a couple hours that afternoon to figure out what to say to the kids. I racked my brain for what limited supplies I had in the fun fun bag of fun that could come in handy. Immediately I thought of my small stuffed animal loaf of bread. Even adults can’t resist his adorable smiling face. One of my favorite stories in the Bible is when Jesus fed the five thousand. I especially like it because He used a child’s small lunch of bread and fish to do such a big miracle. I love telling this story to kids because I want them to know that things like status, power, height, and money don’t matter to God because we ALL have gifts the Lord wants to use, even ones we think are insignificant. As long as we are willing, He will gladly use whatever we have to offer.
I spent the afternoon praying over what the Lord wanted me to say and planning how I could do it in a simple and fun way for kids (who don’t understand a word of English). I started and ended the Bible story with a little repeat-after-me-and-follow-my-hand-motions exaggerated mantra. I had the kids say this over and over: “MY God wants to use LITTLE me to do BIG things for OTHERS and for HIM.”
As I was planning the activities I just a had to laugh. I was preaching to myself. I felt so convicted of my unwilling spirit earlier that morning and thought, “Of course I can lead these kids. I am a kid. God, you made me like this on purpose.” What an opportunity to use my gifts for the kingdom, which is exactly what I wanted the kids to take away from my message. This time I was rolling my eyes at myself and my own stubbornness. It was an honor to be invited to that church and get to speak to those kids, and I’m hoping for more opportunities like that throughout the race.
God is funny. He speaks to us in the silliest ways. I am not always so begrudging when I answer a call to serve, but I am working on laying down my own reservations and being willing to say yes to God and jumping at those opportunities. I am learning that we do not have to have a perfect plan for God to speak through us. In fact, perfect plans usually get in the WAY of God speaking through us. Like the boy Jesus used to feed the 5000, we all have a small gift we can offer to serve others and bring God glory. This week, my gift was my childlikeness; other times it’s offering a listening ear; other times it’s that I enjoy washing dishes. Little things add up to big things, and we all have so much to offer. Even the traits we can be insecure about are ways the Lord has purposefully designed us and are avenues to bring Him glory. What gifts has the Lord specifically given you that you are not currently using to serve Him? How can you start?
Thank you for reading and supporting my journey and caring about what the Lord is currently teaching me. Just that you’re reading this means more than you know. I am still currently fundraising (I’m almost there!!) and if you would like to partner with me please click the link on my main page to donate! I am about $1,500 short of my final goal. I could not have these incredible opportunities without your support – I am so grateful for you!!
