This past week I was on a trip out west to Zion National Park where I had the pleasure of meeting some really awesome people. One of the girls I met had a best friend who did the World Race and she asked me why I was doing the World Race. I was caught off guard for a second because people rarely ask me that. It was easy for me to answer- because God put it on my heart and confirmed it through scripture, other people, prayer, prophetic words, and situations in a matter of two weeks, but I started to think about that question. I realized that it’s important to know the why, but it’s also okay if you don’t know all the details to the why. I know that God called me to the World Race, but I don’t necessarily know the exact reasoning behind it. There are general reasons like to grow with Him and to talk to others about Jesus, but there are also specific things that will happen that no one knows but God. He’s teaching me about trust and relinquishing all control. It makes me more excited to know that ANYTHING could happen and it’s going to be amazing because God is in control and not me.
The why question was a common theme on the trip because there was another situation going on back home that had me reflecting on the why question in a different way. Two students from the elementary school I have worked at the past two years passed away. They were both killed in a house fire along with their parents. I had the pleasure of working with the little boy the past couple years. He had a smile that would light up the room. I honestly could never get mad at him because he always had that smile that melted my heart. Their funeral was yesterday. Over the past week, I’ve been processing their deaths and I’ve asked a lot of why questions. God, what was the point? What was the point of Wiley being adopted and then only living to be 8 years old? Wiley was a boy who loved the summer. He played outside at all hours of the day. Why did you take his most favorite time of the year away from him? A couple days ago when I was driving in the car with a friend singing and enjoying life, I sat back and thought Wiley will never be able to do this. Why God? God really began to answer those questions at the funeral yesterday. The pastor shared a song that was sung at another funeral he had been at recently that goes, “Life is worth the living just because He lives.” And it hit me that that is what it’s all about. Jesus lives. Praise the Lord He lives. Because He lives, Wiley and Cassie and Nancy and Jeff are still living. No matter the circumstance, I have to continually remind myself that Jesus lives and that’s all that matters. Wiley’s sister sang Amazing Grace at the funeral and the lyrics, “When we’ve been there ten thousand years bright shining as the sun, we’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we’ve first begun,” really struck me. Wiley and Cassie are singing their little hearts out right now, and they have eternity to do that. They know no pain right now. And we get the chance to start singing right now too. We don’t have to wait until we get to Heaven. Wiley started when he was here too. He would be singing in class sometimes. I pray we all start singing now and can leave the impact on others that the Browns’ did. It was a tremendous blessing to hear the impact Jeff and Nancy had on others. They took in the least of these and saw people for who they are and not for what they’ve done. They didn’t just say they were Christians. They KNEW Jesus. They really did. Wiley and Cassie got to see what that looked like. Now they get to live it. They get to talk to Jesus every day and play with Him everyday. Wiley gets to have summer break for the rest of eternity.
Jeff posted this song on his facebook 10 days before the fire:
When peace like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say It is well, it is well, with my soul
The songs we sing come from the soul. It was a good reminder to me, no matter what the circumstance on the World Race and in life, it is well with my soul. I cannot be shaken because I have all I need in Jesus. I hope you do too.
Life is precious. Our time on earth is short. Let’s live it to the fullest and not be concerned about the petty, small things. Satan likes for us to get mixed up in that because it distracts us from what’s important. He especially tries in the people he knows have a huge calling on their lives. A spiritual dad in my life gave me this quote a couple days ago- “More and more, the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privilege to have the time to practice this simple ministry of presence. Still, it is not as simple as it seems. My own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups, and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets. It is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around an urgent cause, and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress. But I wonder more and more if the first thing shouldn’t be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your own, and to let them know with words, handshakes, and hugs that you do not simply like them, but truly love them.” Henry Nouwen
Isn’t that how Jesus lived? He wasn’t apart of any ministry but walking with God and walking with people. He spent time with God and then he spent time with people. Eating with people was his biggest form of ministry. Spending time with them. Not rushing from thing to thing. And he asked the hard questions. Just be, don’t do. Resist the urge to be busy. Too much structure and plans removes the opportunity for the Holy Spirit to work. He spoke truth into their lives, telling them who God made them to be, and not who the world tells them they are. Life and death are the in the power of the tongue. Are we speaking life or are we speaking death?
