This month I have things going on, but for some reason I don’t feel like I have a lot to blog about, because I have just hit a crossroads, I have gotten a lot of questions from God that I am working through. The questions I am hearing have cut me right to the heart…”Katherine, my daughter, do you really love me? My child, do you trust me, do you really trust me?” I know there is a gap between the Word of God and how I live on most days. This is what I hear in my heart “Katherine, I see you, I love you, now feed my children, if you really love me, you must feed my children, they are starving, they are dying, if you really trust me, go and do this and watch me provide what you need, put your fears aside, I will walk with you through the waters, through the fire, and provide miraculous feasts from heaven, trust me”.
Wherever Jesus went he stirred a place up, his ministry never looked the same, and was never something ordinary. Jesus is calling us to stray away from the customs the routines the way we have always done things, He is calling me to listen to His voice and act on things that are not normal, He is calling me to be WEIRD, I know this life might be a lonely, misunderstood life, that is the scary part. But as each day passes living a radical life for the Lord, being weird and lonely and misunderstood for Him seems sweeter and sweeter.
Someone pointed out this last speech by Martin Luther King Jr. to me the other day. He talks about what he wants people to say at his funeral. I have been pondering this question and I know how close death on earth is for all of us. I know that I will be standing face to face with my King in seventy years or less, and when He asks me if I loved, if I fed his children like he told me, I want to say YES FATHER, YES MY GOD, I LOVED YOU WITH ALL OF MY HEART, WITH ALL OF MY MIND AND ALL OF MY SOUL, I LEFT ALL OF THE LOVE YOU GAVE ME ON THAT EARTH AND I FED YOUR CHILDREN, THANK YOU JESUS, THANK YOU JESUS, THANK YOU JESUS!
Here is the last part of the drum major speech by MLK:
If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. (Yes) And every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize—that isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards—that’s not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school. (Yes)
I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. (Yes)
I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody.
I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question. (Amen)
I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry. (Yes)
And I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. (Yes)
I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison. (Lord)
I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity. (Yes)
Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. (Amen) Say that I was a drum major for peace. (Yes) I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. (Yes) I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. (Amen) And that's all I want to say.
If I can help somebody as I pass along,
If I can cheer somebody with a word or song,
If I can show somebody he's traveling wrong,
Then my living will not be in vain.
If I can do my duty as a Christian ought,
If I can bring salvation to a world once wrought,
If I can spread the message as the master taught,
Then my living will not be in vain.
Yes, Jesus, I want to be on your right or your left side, (Yes) not for any selfish reason. I want to be on your right or your left side, not in terms of some political kingdom or ambition. But I just want to be there in love and in justice and in truth and in commitment to others, so that we can make of this old world a new world.
AMEN! We are working with a Pastor here in Malaysia doing church ministry. We have made amazing relationships with the families and youth in the church here. Just to give you a little taste of church ministry our days here consist of house visits, revival meetings, long meals with pastor and his family, handing out flyers in the city, decorating the church, women’s nights, and going out in the city with the youth.
Thank you for being so faithful in your prayers and support for me on this trip. I love you all and wish you a very happy easter! God is ALIVE!
