now. I’ve been processing my time as a
squad leader on the World Race, and I have to tell you that it has been the
most amazing 4 months of my life (and I’ve had a pretty awesome life)! This is my attempt to express in words the
way God has blown my mind.
I’ve seen God move in ways that I had only heard stories
about. I’ve seen people step into the freedom that God has for them, find
physical and emotional healing, learn to use their voice, to trust people
enough to let them in, to love as Christ loves, and to bring a message of hope
to the nations!
All I can say is “Wow, God!”
Of all these things, I think my favorite moment is when somebody
realizes for the first time how much God actually loves them. I’ve seen this look so many times over these
past four months, and it is worth giving my life to!
You see, when I went left four months ago, I was excited to
be able to share my wisdom, my biblical knowledge, my masterful insight into
people’s emotional and relational lives and of course to have fun all the
while. These were what I saw as my major
contributions to this squad. God had
different plans.
The most significant contribution I made to these 55 awesome
men and women of God was to show them a glimpse of what Father God’s love is
like. This really is the most important
thing! Everything else pales in
comparison to this. Last week we got to
have a time of debriefing with our squad, and as people talked to me and about
me, they spoke not of my wisdom or anything, but of how I loved them. I now understand when Paul writes in 1
Corinthians 13 that even if I have crazy spiritual gifts and abilities, it
doesn’t mean jack if I don’t love people!
Honestly, it has been crazy.
I feel like I have 55 kids, and I would venture to say that some of them
see me as a kind of father! In these
past four months, I have prayed harder, laughed louder, cared more deeply,
hugged more intensely, had more snot and tears on my shirt, and loved more
passionately than I ever thought possible!
All of this has been a reflection of God’s Spirit at work in me, because
I do not have it in me to love people like this in my own strength.
I can’t tell you what a great privilege it has been to serve
and love this squad, and God has used them to unlock things in my own heart and
prepare me for loving people the rest of my life!
Thank you God, for knowing exactly what I needed and for
giving me the honor of representing Your love to Your children. Thank you W Squad for loving me back and for
allowing me to be a part of your life! I
am forever transformed.
