Unsung Heroes month is a plausible opportunity to trust the leading and faithfulness of God. The remarkable thing about God is that he is limitless. I find that I too regularly put limits on Him. We only had two days left of ministry left in Cambodia and we already had many solid contacts. Part of me was starting to check out, I didn’t feel like going to the meeting this morning. However in my Christian walk and adulthood in general I have learned much about not being led by my feelings. This meeting deserved as much excitement as any other and complete with a smile I hopped into a tuk-tuk and headed to Chatime.
Before I knew it our meeting had come to an end and I was looking forward to the dinner invitation that our team had received. What would commence this evening would become an experience beyond my expectation. There are moments in my life when every sense is enlightened, a moment like this cannot easily be forgotten. It cannot simply be described in words because this instant in time immerses all feeling. I had only met this Pastor a few hours before but he invited me into his life and though I was only given a glimpse, the view was delightful. And I was able to feel the Father’s love through this simple man’s example.
The moment their father extended the invitation little hands and feet prepared for the journey. I wondered how many times they may have taken the short walk to the slums of their city. These young faces embraced the opportunity to go where their father was going, they also embraced their new found American friends and for that I was grateful. Tiny hands reached for mine, their only question being, “what is your name?”
I was interested to see the house that was remodeled to be a place where women skilled in sowing could come to make an income though their own business, which Pastor Somnang encourages but does not enable. (By the way I could totally see a World Race team living there in the future.) With the vision of this home/ministry thoroughly explained to us we began our way home.
As I stepped out into the evening air I noticed the refreshing breeze. There were flickers of lightening in the clouds that hung in the open sky. The slum is a humble place but somehow I felt completely at peace. We began our journey along the railroad track back to Pastor Somnang’s home. Quickly I again felt his children’s hands cling onto mind.
“I bring them here so they can remember where they came from” he told us.
These children are not his biological children but he has extended his heart and home to a dozen smiling faces that he is raising up to be lights to a future generation. We spread out into small clusters as we followed the railroad track back into the city, Pastor leading the way. This was a quiet moment as there was a linguistic barrier between the children and myself, but as I sporadically glanced down I could see there smiling faces in the dusk.
I knew in my heart that God was speaking to me. As an adopted Daughter of my heavenly father I have at times found it difficult to comprehend that relationship. These children have confidently and boldly accepted this relationship with their father. They trusted him, walking through a place that could be seen as fearful they did not question if he had their best interest in mind. I want to trust my heavenly father with this type of boldness, without question or doubt of his goodness.
It is difficult to explain the fullness of this evening, the wisdom gleaned from this simple servant. But I will never forget this experience on one of my final evenings in Cambodia. As he dropped our team off for the night he reminded us that we now have family in Cambodia which I would truly be pleased to meet again one day.
Ephesians 1:3-8
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.
