Contagious Love

I have struggled with feeling uncomfortable around people with developmental disabilities. I find myself to be awkward. I often don’t know what to say or how to act. I find people with disabilities to be amazing and I learn so much when I am with them, but I do not often feel relaxed and at home with them.

My dear Amy started working with an organization that offers a day program to developmentally disabled adults. Serving the members in her care has changed Amy. She has so much love for them. It has redefined her understanding of community and of love. Every time we are together, she tells me stories and her whole person comes alive. I look forward to our times together when I can hear the latest news from the members.

So I had the opportunity to go with Amy and some of the staff and members to a Clippers game last Monday. While it was a great excuse to go see a game, it really provided a wonderful opportunity to see Amy with the people who have come to be so important to her. What I had not anticipated was how easy it was going to be for me to be with them. I had not realized that over the months of storytelling and my praying for Amy that I had come to love them too. I felt at home within seconds. I easily engaged in conversation. I was able to be myself with them. I did not feel awkward.

I love Amy. Amy loves these amazing adults. They love Amy. I did not realize it, but somewhere along the line, I started loving them. It was a joy to be able to put flesh and blood to the stories. It was a joy to discover Amy’s love has been contagious.

For more information about the organization Amy works with follow this link.

http://www.injoyliferesources.com/

Knowing God

Why do I read and study my Bible? This was a question posed to me this past week. It came on the heels of several other conversations that week about why studying the Bible is important to me. The question caused me to stop and think before I answered. God had been bringing up His Word so many times in one week that I knew I needed to pay attention.

I responded that I read my Bible because I want to know God. It is not about being changed. It is not about looking for answers. It is about knowing the God I say I follow. I want to know His character. I want to know how He acts with His people. I want to know how He responds in different circumstances. I want to know Him.

The funny thing is that reading to know Him does change me. Everything I do, how I act, comes directly from what I believe (this is universally true). If my actions are faulty, I know it is because my beliefs are faulty. If I want to change my behavior, I have to change my beliefs. The better I come to know God, the more accurate my beliefs are about God. As I get to know Him through reading the Bible, my beliefs are shaped and changed. This change in beliefs results in a changed way of living.

So I do end up with answers. I do end up with life change. Yet those things are not my goals when I am studying my Bible. Those are byproducts. This has not always been true in my life, but it has been a slow change that I see making a big difference. The goal is to come to intimately know God who remains knowable and unfathomable all at the same time.

Ephesians 3:18-19, “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.”

Open My Eyes and Let Me See

It so easy to just see what I see. I get focused on the people in my world right now. I catch bits and pieces of the work God is doing in my life. I get caught in my routine. Sometimes I forget there is so much more going on than meets the eye.

I sometimes forget that God is also at work in the people around me. I forget that God has a larger story He is unfolding. I forget that His work involves both the physical world and the spiritual world.

Community Bible Study continues to look at the book of 2 Kings. This week I read how the King of Aram sent his army after Elisha because Elisha continued to foil the king’s plans.

2 Kings 6:15-17 says, “When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. ‘Oh, sir, what will we do now?’ the young man cried to Elisha.

‘Don’t be afraid!’ Elisha told him. ‘For there are more on our side than on theirs.’ Then Elisha prayed, ‘O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!’ The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.”

Open my eyes and let me see, Lord. Do not let me get blinded by my own life and agenda. Help me to be keenly aware of what You are doing. Help me to see beyond Your work in me to understand the bigger story You are writing in this world and in those around me.