This was such an overwhelming reminder to me as I thought back (and do a lot!) on the first words God spoke to me about Extending Hands...go and love, go and love. Don't I have to have more than that, Lord?? Don't I have to have a plan? A list of goals and ways to measure success to satisfy the Western minds that want answers to all the questions? Spread sheets? Tables and graphs to asses where all time and money have gone and to what extent of return? Well, while all those things are good, I don't know that Jesus cared about the number of people that would come to Him after His conversation with the one women at the well. His focus was her. He was present to talk to her, care about her and know her. Everyone else is bonus! As Jill Briscoe quoted, "Crowds are made up of individuals". Do we see the one? The lone widow who needs a hug and a little help, the prostitute who needs to know she is beautifully created by God, the single mother who needs a hand with her kids and a listening ear? There is always one women who I notice needs a little extra attention or words of affirmation when I go to Zambia. Let us always be looking for the one or few who, while in the crowd, are longing for someone to see them for the person they are, a person who has a name and a story. An individual. This is my goal, to always see the individual faces of the women I work with, to hear each story, to see a women just like me, but on the other side of the world. A women who might just need to know that I cared enough to come.
Are we willing to go when God calls, without a safety net or a specified agenda? Jill talked about how she took a group of women to a war torn area once and the women were all asking Jill about what they were going to be doing, and what should they know before they go, and what were they to say when they got there. Jill just kept saying, "I don't know". They were shocked! They couldn't believe there was no plan! But when they got there, the conversations that were being had went something like this..."We are just glad you came, you just came, we can't believe you came!"
This speaks to my soul as I know God has spoken these words to my heart. The idea that being present is enough. That God can and will do the "rest" if we just show up. Loving as Christ loved IS enough of a reason to go, to be, and to sacrifice for. Wherever that may be! We might just need to show up in our families, or neighborhoods or beyond that! And you don't have to have all the answers and know exactly what you are going to say or do once you decide to go and be.
Sometimes I get caught up or worried that we aren't doing enough, or we arent' showing "rapid" growth (whatever that means!) or selling enough products to help the women we work with in Zambia. Good thing I had lunch with a friend who works in other African countries with widows who reminded me of a good point. That WHATEVER we are doing to help women in Africa is more than when we weren't doing ANYTHING to help women in Africa. That we can care about long term sustainability of "projects" (while important..) or know that the woman that we give help and a hug to today could die tomorrow and we gave her hope when no one else would. She is not a casualty to the cause or project but a real person who we touched, physically with our hands and spiritually to her soul.
Ministry Jesus' way....freeing...
