As our time in India comes to an end, the clarity of hindsight begins to set in and the lessons of the Lord are unveiled. The last three weeks were a journey in itself. We were exposed to and molded by so much it’s hard to sum up everything I have learned. If I could describe our time in India I would describe it as, “beautiful but not in the way I was expecting.”
I’ve been so blessed over the to see so much of the nature beauty of creation. The mountains, rivers, canyons, beaches, waterfalls and forests have enticed me ever since I was boy. As I grew older, nature became my place of solitude where I could connect with the Lord. India was an interesting month because it stripped me of all of my escapes. Compound life took away my aspirations of exploration and limited my means of solitude. I absolutely loved our ministry and wouldn’t trade it for a second, but I still wondered what God was thinking when he took away the freedom and independence that he knew I cherished.
On one of our last nights in Indian ministry we were taken to speak at a church sermon at a village pastors home. This pastor’s home wasn’t an ordinary place. This village hero takes care of 11 boys who come from such poverty that their parents can no longer care for them. This pastor doesn’t make a lot of money, but he is rich in the spirit of adoption. When we pulled up to the home the 11 boys were so welcoming to us. They were joyful, fun, interesting, and surprisingly very well behaved. They gave us so many hugs and treated us with such kindness, we felt as if we were apart of their family. As the night went on I found myself overcome with a sense of brotherly love for these kids and my eyes were opened that night to what he had been showing me for the past few weeks.
He was showing me the beauty of his people and his heart for them. All of a sudden all of these wonderful memories rushing in like a waterfall into my mind of the grace we’ve seen in the past 3 weeks. Here are some examples: We were shown such beautiful, unmerited hospitality wherever we went. We witnessed incredible devotion to the Lord despite persecution, lack of family approval, and poverty. We saw his heart for the sick and his care of them through miraculous healings I was impressed particularly by the faith of the Indian women we got to know. They had such devotion and love to their husbands who were unsupportive alcoholics. They loved having children and were desperately praying for more to take care of. The children and young adults wanted so much prayer for their studies in the hope that they could break the cycle of poverty in their lives. Lastly, we heard dozens of testimonies of God’s provision and care for people who have nothing. The heart of the Lord is truly more wonderful than man can comprehend.
1st Corinthians 13:13 says, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” What separates people from the rest of creation is the capacity for these three things: faith, hope, and love. These things cannot be bought or sold but are freely given. Overall, God changed my view of people and increased my knowledge of his heart through the Indian villagers. I am now in awe of the way God attributed his own beautiful attributes of faith, hope, and love to people whom he cares so deeply for.
I’m writing this blog from Nepal, where I’m enjoying chow mein with ketchup, (its actually really good), drinking tea and building anticipation to climb the mountains we see from our hotel balcony. I’m so blessed and wondering, “what is my life right now?” Everything on the race is an unmerited gift- the good times and the difficult ones.
Prayer: “Lord thank you so much for everything your teaching me. Thank you for showing me the beauty in people, may I cherish relationship with them as you do. Thank you for showing me your immense heart for people and the capacity to believe, hope, and love that you have given us. Thank you for a new season and new adventures ahead please bless all who have help me along the way. Continue to show us your heart my God as we walk with you in intimacy.”
