The past few weeks our church has had a Sunday evening prayer time that I’ve loved being a part of. I am so excited about what God is doing in this city, and I love being a part of gatherings to pray for God’s leading as we step out into new areas of loving God and loving others. With that added into my day plus the other planned call with a friend, I completely forgot to update this blog before I went to bed. It wasn’t until Tuesday that I remembered I hadn’t posted an update which is odd since this is such a part of my weekly routine.
I have kept up this weekly habit for pretty much a whole decade, and I usually try to give an update of what God is doing in my body and my ministry. Those seem to be the two key things about my life people are interested in. Turns out there’s actually more. Apparently a lot of people are interested in me as a holistic human being, and I’m finding that strange to process as I read feedback from my memoir test readers. So many people have thanked me for showing a whole picture of myself. So much of my past two weeks have been the boring ordinary things, but I’m learning to celebrate God’s faithfulness to me in the ordinary.
My commitment to the youth here is long term, and I am praying hard for the life transformation and next steps in the discipleship journey of the young people here who desperately need Jesus. I’m also still praying for my own ongoing transformation to make me a better representative of Jesus. This past couple of weeks had some draining encounters, and I was asking God to fill me up and help me make some progress in ministry opportunities. What I got from God were several calls and one letter from former students who have remained connected with me across years and oceans.
These contact points are reminders of God’s ongoing work in their lives as I see growth and fruit from the work I did years ago. As I pray over the youth in New Zealand, I know that it’s a lifetime of fruit that will come from these young people growing up and faithfully choosing Jesus in various aspects of their lives. When I get tired here, I remember the list of people who are closer to Jesus now than they were two or ten years ago when I first met them. I still will carry on with my faithful work that God has set before me.
Sprinkled in with the ordinary work, I get the exciting messages from friends telling me about wild ways God shifted their expectations. I love seeing how God shows up in unexpected ways writing better stories than I could on my own. Right now, I’m turning over some stories to God that I’d like to see him intervene in. I’m asking God for more than I can imagine because I know his character is loving and generous.
In the midst of that, I’m celebrating his faithfulness in the things that require patience. It’s that back and forth balance, the tension of waiting on God’s miracles while actively engaging in the work he’s put before me. Here we find out that despite two full weeks of life, I don’t have a pity story for the internet that screams “look at all the good God is doing in and through me!” Instead, I have the same request of the last ten years: pray that God is glorified, and it’d be nice if I could walk again too. I know that there’s a lot at work in Christchurch, and I love being on the ground for this movement of the Holy Spirit. Please pray with me for transformed lives and miraculous healings.
