Do you know what you were made for? Do you know what sustains you? Do you know what God is after? It is LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!! Indescribable, Undeniable, Unbelievable LOVE!!!! And do you want to know where I found it this past weekend?
I found the love of God in a shack!!! No, not the one where a figurative character named Mack stumbles upon a snow-covered shack in the woods of Oregon, and where he encounters a fat-black woman, a ghostlike spirit of asian descent, and a middle-eastern looking Jesus (At least the book got one thing right, haha!)
No, I found the love of God in a tiny village of indigenous people, 3 hours outside of Kuala Lumpur, where we held a bible study in a house built on stilts with a floor made from a beetle nut tree (It was kind of like sitting on strips of bamboo). I felt the love of God from a family who had never laid eyes on a white-person before, who opened their home to us, blessed us with tea and snacks, and honored us by listening to our testimonies.
During the end of our stay there a teammate of mine, Cassie, read a poem that expresses the immense love our God has for us. During the song she asked me to play quietly on the guitar to add effect and emotions to the words she was expressing. And half-way through the song as my eyes were closed and my fingers were plucking away, I felt a slight nudge and the dampening of the strings on my guitar. I opened my eyes and low and behold it was a 1-year-old boy with an orange balloon in his mouth attempting to stroke the strings of my guitar right along with me.
The boy’s name is Daniel and he is the son of a husband and wife who work with the ministry we were partnering with. The parents are young, yet passionate believers who are indigenous themselves and they are trying to reach their very own family and community with the love of Jesus they have found. Their 2 children are so adorable and affectionate, and they have no problem coming up to strangers and playing with them right away. They almost always come along for the ministry times and it has caused them to be so comfortable that sometimes they feel like they can just take free reign of whatever they want.
So during this time of reflecting upon God’s love I had Daniel sucking on an orange balloon the size of his head, had chickens and dogs I could see running underneath the bamboo-like floor beneath me, and also had Daniel’s tiny hand stopping the vibration of my guitar strings. Talk about distractions while trying to focus on the love of God!!!! All I could do in my mind is sit back, relax, and enjoy this hilarious scene of attempted worship. I just took in every second and couldn’t help but laugh! I simply love the humor of God and how no distraction is great enough to separate us from feeling His love.
It was truly a sight and sound to behold and one that I will never forget. I hope today that you feel the love of God, that you feel His presence, and that you know you’ve been called His Beloved.
