In between Haiti and Botswana, we stayed in Johannesburg, SA for 3 nights and 2 days in order to rest, recover from jet lag, and prepare for the next 2 months. Over this short stay, we surprisingly received an abundance of opportunities to minister and share the gospel. This included homeless people, beggars, shop owners, artists, department store workers, uber drivers, and people who were staying at the same hostel as us. The hostel turned out to not only be a hostel, but also a dorm for a nearby private college. Arriving to somewhat of a college dorm on a Friday night (and only staying for the weekend) presented itself over and over again with unique situations and conversations.
Some of the girls who were studying psychology automatically clicked with our girls. One lady, Tallah, especially loved spending time with us, and we loved spending time with her. She told us what the Lord had done in her life and who He was to her. She was incredibly wise and it was encouraging to hear all that she had to say.
Tallah became extremely upset when our serious conversations continued to get interrupted by the other people staying there. Because she was far from sober by this point and was not able to control her emotions, Tallah attempted to attack them. It escalated so quick and became so dangerous, a group of men restrained her and forced her outside the gate.
When things quieted down, all I could think about is how she TRULY is an incredible, sweet, woman who really does love God. She showed us so many attributes of Christ and shared so much wisdom with us. I was beyond sad she had caused herself to become somebody she wasn’t. I knew her for such a little amount of time, but genuinely knew that wasn’t the true Tallah.
Why do we always try to become somebody God didn’t intend for us to be? We are all at fault for this and try to fit the mold the world has created for us. If we say “God is perfect”, then we believe that all His creations are also perfect. We are one of His creations, which means we are perfect… SO WHY IN THE WORLD ARE WE TRYING TO CHANGE/HIDE/MASK/ALTER His creations and His perfection? Do we think we can do better than God?
We need to have a desire of being true to God, and being true to who He created us to be. Who God created you to be is so much more beautiful than anything you could create yourself to be, so we all need to stop trying.
Who are we? We are created in the image of God. As we read the bible more and more, it reveals to us who God is, which teaches us who we actually were created to be.
Encourage others in this as well. It is not our responsibility to give and remove other people’s value. The only one who can place value on a person is God- and our value was determined at the cross and cannot be changed because of what Christ did. Constantly build one another up in Christ. It is not going to help anyone learn about Jesus or further the Kingdom of God by, not only, trying to mold yourself to what the world expects, but constantly putting others down who are trying to break from the world’s mold.
I am blessed for 9 months to be surrounded 24/7 by such a strong, encouraging, Christain community. I am being built up every day and pushed in my faith. Tallah does not get that opportunity. She never has, and most likely, never will. But it shouldn’t have to be like that!! We should be a strong, encouraging, loving community anywhere we go and with anyone we meet. To strangers, to neighbors, to family, to old friends, to everyone. Think about all the people that don’t feel like they have a positive community, never feel taken seriously or fully appreciated, feel like they are nothing, so they turn to doing what the world tells them to do, JUST so they can feel something briefly. We can be so unkind to each other, but because of Christ, we also have the power to change that.
Are you being true to who God created you to be? Are you reaffirming God’s value in others? Are you establishing, creating, and existing in a God centered and loving community?
