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Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Where nobody knows your name

Yesterday, I kept thinking about my time overseas. One thing that I learned about myself during that time, was that when I am around people I don't know..I have fewer inhibitions.

Maybe it is the notion that I can be myself more freely around people that I will never see again. Maybe it is the freedom of literally being thousands of miles from home.

During my time in England, I felt more beautiful, more unafraid... more daring.

Even in speech, I found myself more confident.. 
I made a lot of friends overseas because I was comfortable with myself and I made others feel comfortable around me.

I started wondering why I was so confident overseas and less so here on my own home turf.

Have you ever felt that?  Less inhibited and more apt to be yourself in some distant or foreign place where no one knows your name? 

Throughout this walk, I have felt God's love continually desiring to push me out of my shell..the safe little cocoon like nest that I have made for myself.

There have been days when I have heeded this call. God, through His overwhelming love, has placed something in my heart that desires for everyone around me..to see His goodness and know the depths of the love He has for them.

It is that love that pushes me forward. It is like a wind...I long to breathe it in..I long for the lung capacity of my life to expand and to breathe that same love on everyone I meet.

I long for love to be uninhibited. To be something that flows from me with confidence.

I began to think about missionaries. The mission field is so important. We are called to go to distant places and spread the good news. But we are also called to love here. On this ground..this home turf.
It's easy to love on people that you will never see again, but what about the lost that you don't want to bother about. What about the people here? The ones we face day in and day out... They are just as important.

I remember when I first started writing this blog.. I was afraid to share it people that I had to see on a daily basis. I guess I was afraid they would judge me ..criticize.. I was nervous because I knew that they would be looking at my life and I was afraid that I would fail.
But, as Christ began doing a deep work in me..and as my love and concern for others grew, I became more confident over time..
We have to step out in faith. Even if it is baby steps..Faith is taking the first step, even when you can't see the entire staircase... Martin Luther King, Jr. said that.
It's profound.
Jesus was even more profound when He told us to let our light shine before men so that He can be seen in and through it.

This is just a reminder to let God do the work in you. You are the called. You are the chosen. Taking the first step is pivotal in any journey. Otherwise, we end up nowhere.
You don't have to be obscure or unknown to love on others.  You don't have to be in a distant place or a foreign land to do what God has called you to do...well, for some..this may indeed be the case..
but for now, learn to love on home turf.

"HE has not given me a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7

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