This month in Cambodia, we are serving the least of these. The children who do not have clothes, and if they do- it’s clothes they wear every day and are like dirty pieces of thin cloth. We teach English to kids the age of 3-18. If these kids succeed in learning English, they will actually have a chance at getting a job. This isn’t just teaching them English, but teaching the love of God, teaching the basics of what God has for us. The children who are younger than 10, know about seven VBS songs including “Our God is so BIG!” and “I’ve got the joy down in my heart”. They have taught me so much just in the few days of being there. One of the girls has a stub as a hand and little balls on the stubs in which were supposed to be her fingers. On her other hand, her pointer finger is also not complete. I cannot even explain how much this girl does not allow her hand to stop her even a little bit, even to the point of me wondering if she realizes she doesn’t have a functional hand or fingers. Of course she does, but she will play “Red Rover” like a professional athlete, she claps and sings VBS songs like she wrote them, she gives her stubby hand to anyone she sees to dance and play with them, and she even plays “Rock, Paper , Scissors!”
This makes me think about my insecurities. Everything about my body is fully formed and nothing strange. My insecurities are the ones that nobody sees (or pays attention to) such as; the new cellulite on my thighs, my fear of leading worship songs (leading by playing guitar and singing), my fear of people not liking me or judging me. I constantly act and say the things that I think will be liked by the people around, when this girl jumps and sings and plays like nobody’s business.
I’ve always been very extremely self aware while worshipping. I’ve had moments where I’m like “Man, I want to dance with God” and would really like to dance during worshipping, but don’t because other people are in the room. This girl gives me this inspiration, and today I took my new freedom. Today I captured what it truly means to have “Childlike faith”. To just be the father’s child and to be simply in his presence and to simply worship him. Today I danced and jumped for the Lord during worship just as children do. I prayed today “I constantly want to be as excited for you as I am about ice cream!!!” Now if that’s not a childlike thought, I don’t know what is!
I challenge all of us to be more childlike with our faith. God wants us to be childlike because as adults, we over think things. God doesn’t care about how we want to sound mature during praying out loud! God just wants us to be simply like we should be! Maybe God just wants to hear a simple “I LOVE YOU!” When was the last time you just stopped your day for a second to simply tell your father you love him? Don’t allow an unformed hand, or a disability or an insecurity to stop you from shouting out VBS songs or simply sending up love to our father. I triple dog dare you :-p
