love your neighbor.

my friend and i were driving home from minneapolis having a conversation about how to love, reach out, and help people who are homeless. this is something i have been thinking about since i started hanging out downtown over the past three years.

i am not sure there is one exact solution for every person we see holding a cardboard sign on the corner of washington and 35 or sitting at the bus stop. part of the solution; however, has to be love. we are commanded to love our neighbor (mark 12).

who are my neighbors? i am quickly learning that they are more than just the people in the two houses next to mine. the people i need to view as my neighbor are those who i come in contact with. my coworkers, my family, the waitress, the checkout lady at the grocery store, the people i sit next to in church and every person i walk or drive by. no matter if any of these people have a home or not, they are my neighbor. they all should be loved.

this does not mean we are called to give a homeless person all the money we have in our wallet every time we drive by them. it does mean we need to acknowledge them, make them feel human and listen to the Holy Spirit of how it is we can best love them. maybe we will be prompted to give them the money or gift card in our wallet or the apple in our bag. it could also just be finding out their story.

i am often scared to give homeless people money because they might use it on alcohol or something they don't really need. i am not sure where this idea came from. everyone assumes this, but who really actually finds out how homeless people use the money they are give? i am realizing that i really need to trust God with however He tells me to love. this is with whoever i am in interacting with. i also need to realize that the Lord commands us to help the poor which could mean giving them the $5 i was planning to use on my lunch.

one thing i told my friend, who waits at the bus stop every day seeing the same homeless people is that if she learns their stories she will then be able to understand who they are. when we learn a person's story, we learn pretty quickly how they spend their time and money.

Lord, i pray that You help me love better, especially the people who i often do not know how to love. teach me to treat every person i interact with like they are Your creation. thank you God that each person, homeless or not, has a story. i want to know those stories. thank you that my money is not mine, but Your money God. teach me to view it as that. let me not hold my money tightly but loosely so that You can use it to help those in need. God, you are the Creator of every human being and the Giver of all things. i praise you. Amen.

not my will, but Yours be done.

when i stop trying to figure out my life, i am able to see how God is constantly working out every moment. during each minute of my day i have a God who delights in me. as i rest in that truth, i can stop worrying. i can see the Lord (not necessarily the plan) more. tonight, i saw this love of my faithful Papa. he knew exactly who i needed to have a conversation with about what is going on in my life. i am grateful that i can rest in God who so deeply cares about my life.

His timing is perfect.

like a river.

tonight, God's love to me is like a river.

it is a river that quenches those who thirst. 
a river that gives life. 
the water is pure and refreshing. 
it has a current that keeps flowing. 
this river is full of water that rushes towards those that need it, 
in such a gentle way. 
it twists and turns to keep seeking,
and never stops pursuing. 
this river rejuvenates those who are weary,
heals those who are sick,
and makes clean those who are dirty. 
this river reaches out before needing to be reached into. 


God is teaching me something. i often look to Him like He is a well of water that i have to find. a well that will only come give me life and love when i want it. a well that i have to work for to be refreshed by. tonight, God told me that His love is like a river that is rushing to me at all times. He came to me first and will continue to pursue after me. no matter where i am at in life, He is a river that is always there and moving in me. this river is not something i have to work to find because it will never fail me. 

this river is something i need to just be at to know it is there. 

transition is hard.

the title of this entry seems like an understatement. every part of my life reminds me of the word transition. my job is ending in two months, my living situation is temporary, my friendships are changing, and the list goes on. i do have consistency, but that does not make it easy. i must face it, i am in a time of transition. this is why i have told many people that transition is something you cannot teach or really prepare for because it is different for everyone.

so what am i learning during this transition?

i am blessed. even though it might not always "feel" that way. Jesus is never going to leave or forsake me. fixing my eyes on Him is how i am going through this awkward, unknown stage of life. God reminds me daily that life is hard, but so good because He is always there. i saw a note i took during a sermon i heard during my spring break trip. it was a good reminder since i am always wanting to know what is next...

i have a lot of questions about my life, especially about the future. but you know what...that is okay. GOD IS PEACE, REST, BEAUTY, STRENGTH, GRACE, MERCY, LOVE, AND LIFE.
He is worthy of my attention. He is my clarity. He is my sanity.

 

ps. listen to this song. it is truth we can proclaim.