(I stated writing this before the end
of last school year….)
As she
walked up to me with her head down low and her hand held out, she said, “Here, this for you, if you can read it….�
I returned to my desk and attempted to scramble through it for a second and
then decided that I had better wait until I get home. I am home now and after many tears of thanksgiving and
praise, it hit me hard that this 17 year old girl that I had been begging God
for all year has been loved by Jesus Himself.
At the
beginning of the year, this young lady was defiant, often had fits of rage, and
you never knew what might happen from one minute to the next, yet I prayed. I
knew that there was no way through this and no way for a change of heart unless
He heard my cry and grabbed her heart. There were days that she would stand up,
express herself freely and walk out of class for some unknown reason in burning
anger, while almost knocking the door of its hinges. Often this happened and often I would plead for her. As time went
on, she began to open up and talk. I would listen and God would speak. I got to
pray for her and simply love her with my patience and time.
One of the
last things that she wrote was this: “If
you can help me, I know you can help anyone in the world because you love.�
Another
student, Cooper, is the perfect picture of pure love. He is brilliant and such
a joy to be around. He lights my day up, every time I see him! He loves like a
child and is not slow to let me know it. But you see, Cooper can’t speak.
Although we can’t speak to each other, Cooper is my right-hand man! God has
taught me unexplainable things through that guy! All we must do is love each other….
In each
instance, there are many times that I don’t know what to do, what to say or
even how to react! There are many barriers between us and it quite often gets very
frustrating. I can’t identify with them, I don’t walk in their shoes, and I
can’t speak sign language that well! At
times, I just want to GIVE UP, but don’t. I can’t. I love them too much to
give up….
It is now
November 15, 2010, and a few days ago, I found her letter in my backpack. I
pulled it out and read it. I didn’t get
very far before tears began to hit the floor. All because something called
love….
Low and
behold, Jeremy and I read out of 1 Corinthians 13 that morning. It wasn’t the most
well-known verses that hit me hard (4-7), it was verse 1. “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t
love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging symbol.� I could
speak every language in the world and be able to communicate with everyone
perfectly but still achieve nothing.
I could be here in Africa and walk in the shoes of every one of these
orphans and accomplish nothing. I could live the life of each person in the
world and see no fruit. All these things mean nothing without love…. Verse 13
says that three things will last forever �” faith, hope, and love and the
greatest of these is love. The GREATEST
is LOVE! What is it about love that is completely freeing!? It’s absolutely selfless
and it NEVER gives up!!! (I won’t attempt to explain that one…. Just read the
rest of the chapter.)
No matter
what barrier stands between you and someone’s heart, whether it is language,
age, or anything else, we must not
forget how simple the Gospel is…. It is to love God and to love people. THAT’S IT!!!
This Love is a heart clenching, selfless, passionate, life changing love that
reaches to the depths of the deepest and to the heights of the most glorious
points, only to bring life in joyful abundance. Nothing else will do….
I will leave you the same way I did the church in the bush:
The best sermon that your life will ever preach is to simply love people.
