Gaby

"Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away."

As a Christian there are certain ways I have learned to process certain events...
Today I received news that I had no idea how to process.

Gaby was a homeless woman who lived in the bushes near the gas station down the street from my school.  Several years ago I began visiting her. I would bring her meals or snacks and pray for her. I did share the gospel with her but I don't think she could understand me. No matter what I would say she would always reply, "yes, yes" or sometimes I would get a hearty "thank you". I could never tell if she really knew what I was saying, if you knew the love that had grown in my heart for her or most importantly if she knew God's love.

Sometimes I would take my students to see her and we would bring her lunch. One of my students, feeling great compassion towards her, told her mom (also a teacher at my school) and they began visiting Gaby as well.

This morning, my student came to me and told me that Gaby had passed away. I had feared her death for so long, anxiousness overwhelming me everytime I drove by her spot at the gas station. But today my fear became a reality. Death is something I've faced before and it's always difficult. But this time... there is no way of knowing if she really knew Christ, there is no one to call and give my condolences to, no funeral...

So what can I take away from this? Tomorrow is never guaranteed. There are Gaby's everywhere, people who are alone and in great need. If I pass them by today, I have no promise that I will see them tomorrow.

God is always on mission. He purposes that we would live on mission. Who has God put in your path today? How will/did you respond?

Lord, we ask that you give us your eyes to see, your heart to love and boldness to proclaim your word to a lost and dying world. Amen.

My Lettuce has a blog...

You can go there if you like...
You can read all about the lettuce and its adventures, its thoughts on life...
I think the lettuce blog has more followers than mine. I'd put the address here so you could check it out but then I'd never have any hope of capturing your interest before the lettuce did. Yes...I just blogged about lettuce, but not before they did.

Being Human

Do you ever notice that you need a lot more grace at 3am? I mean the level of grace God has extended to us never changes but the level required by other humans to love us...well, that amount definitely increases at 3am. 3am or any other time I am too tired, too hungry, too_______ (fill-in the blank).

I am really thankful for the gracious people who love me, especially at 3am.

The Girl in the Grey Pants

 "But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine." Isaiah 43:1

I never saw her...I only heard the description quickly pronounced by one of my teammates as we passed her by. Those words hung in the air...was that all she was?  A girl without a name described by a generic article of clothing.

I don't know her story but I could guess at some of the details. Fatherless, abandoned, abused, broken- hearted, numb from the years of pain, living life simply to survive one day to the next.

I don't know her name or even the image of her face but I know God's thoughts towards her. I know that He knows the exact number of hairs on her head, that he has kept every tear of hers in a bottle. I know that He knit her together in her mother's womb with good works planned for her even before the foundations of the earth. I know that He created her with a purpose, to give her a hope and a future.

I know to the very depths of who I am that these things are true but does she? Will she live her life merely to survive this earth never knowing her Creator?

Week after week I'm haunted by the reality of this girl, not just her but all those that she represents.
Yet at the same time I'm hopeful, hopeful because God has done for me what He longs to do for each of them...for all of us. He has given me value, He has given me hope, He has redeemed me and pulled me out of my sin and brokenness into abundant life with Him.

As we drove home last night one of my teammates and I discussed the night's events... we didn't remember a lot of details. Not many girls received us though most of them took a gift bag, between the two of us we didn't have any real conversations or pray with anyone (though others on the team did). But my teammate had her mind set on things above as she said to me, "I can't wait to get to heaven and see all that God has done. All the hearts that were changed because of a simple gift bag or the kindness of a stranger. All the seeds that God will harvest from these nights we have spent on the street."


Perhaps we'll meet the girl in the grey pants there...maybe the first time we learn her name it will be the new name God has given her in heaven.


"And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9