One Body

Friend! Friend! How I’ve missed you! After a whirl-wind month, the husband, doggy & I have officially relocated to Denver, Colorado where my husband is working for a mission’s organization. This move is just one more example of how good and how faithful our God is. Our time in New York was so precious. We were put in a position of completely relying on God. Financially, emotionally, spiritually. We had nothing without Him. It was a stretching & growing time. It hurt. Some days badly. It was uncomfortable. My flesh cried at times because I didn’t know what the next day held, but I was filled with hope and encouragement because I did know Who held the next day. The verse that says the joy of the Lord is my strength has penetrated my soul. I grew up singing it as a song, not really thinking about the meaning. It’s now become a verse that has “clicked”. I love when that happens! Our time in NY allowed us to purposefully rely on God’s goodness, promises and grace. I love standing under the heavenly showers of His love! It was a time of preparation to ready our hearts for what He has next for us. What an honor to be on an assigned journey where the Creator of all things, is right there beside us every step of the way. We don’t deserve it. But boy, do we accept and appreciate it! We have seen very detailed and specific cries of our hearts be answered in such a powerful way that it’s obvious it was ONLY God that could have heard us & taken detailed action on our behalf. Big things are happening & all glory goes to our God. I get goosebumps just thinking about it. We worship an active, living and all-powerful God who loves to work through us & bless us. Thank you, Jesus.

This will have been the 3rd time that we packed what we could fit in our car and moved cross-country. So I like to think of us as "seasoned professionals". One might think that very little could fit into a PT Cruiser. I beg to differ. When you marry a musician, packing the drums are a high priority. So I’ve learned to just go with it...I filled all the drums with clothes. No space wasted, I get me clothes, he gets his drums. And I’ve learned that leg room is over-rated. I’ve discovered how to strategically place books, pillows and small accessories around myself (No, I wasn't driving). Sure, it took 15 minutes for my husband to unbury me each time we stopped, but it worked. And let me tell you...it’s incredible the things you see when you drive cross-country in 2 days. (I could see out my window if I looked over the winter jackets and pillows.) Torrential downpours and tornado warnings in one state & a few hours later in a different state, total sunshine & dry roads. Oh yes...there was getting completely lost...in cornfields...at midnight...literally. No exaggeration there. (Sidenote: By 9pm in Adel, Iowa, EVERYTHING is closed. So if you need directions and your GPS isn't working, you'll be sad. However, the police dispatch are extremely kind & can navigate any lost commuter out of even the thickest of cornfields...even in the middle of the night.) Oh, what memories. I do have to tell you, my husband is the BEST road trip buddy though. We load up on snacks & hit the road. One hour later, his wife is terribly parched. Possibly to the point of tears. So he’ll pull over to a place that has iced tea and head back to the highway. Yes, tea’s not the best road trip drink, but that doesn’t matter. Then 2 hours later, that tea is trying to make a super quick escape, so of course, an urgent bathroom stop is desperately needed. What a patient (and really good looking) man. But as many wonderful things that we were able to see along the way, there are definitely a few bathroom stops I’d like to forget about. I don’t care if you’re bathroom is dirty, I’ll just go to a different one. But don’t advertise ‘clean restrooms’ when it’s a total and complete lie...and FYI, I think to be considered a "bathroom", it must have a toilet. False advertising if you ask me. Unfortunately, some images can never, ever be erased.

As we drove through state, after state, after state, I kept thinking about how big God truly is. It was so special to see all the churches along the way. So many different houses of worship. A little tiny chapel nestled in a wheat field. A huge stone church smack dab in the middle of a downtown. Fellow brothers and sisters that love our Lord. We don’t know their names or stories, but they are definitely there. And God’s working in their hearts, their hurts, their lives and communities. So awesome, isn’t it? Be encouraged. We aren’t alone.

I’ve seen how God is moving powerfully in my own church & community and how people’s lives are being changed. And it’s incredible to think that as personal as my God is to me, He’s just as personal and intimate in the lives of believers around the world. We truly are one body, with one Father.

Romans 12:4-6 says, “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well...”

The little church in the wheat field will touch the lives of people that you & I will never meet here on earth. The huge stone church in a busy downtown is refuge for hurting people whose faces we will never see. I am so encouraged and appreciative for this visual I got as we traveled. It has stirred an excitement and longing in my heart to faithfully pray for my brothers & sisters. I pray for daily renewal of their hearts & minds. May their words not be their own, but straight from the mouth of God. May the people around them be healed & transformed by Jesus through acts of kindness, love and truth.

1 Corinthians 15:58, “So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”

Nothing we do for the Lord is useless, whether it's a small act of kindness or a huge act of love. How encouraging! I pray that the people you & I come into contact with will be forever changed. I ask God to place a sensitivity inside each of us so that we can recognize how to love, help and serve others. May our actions and words towards others reflect their Maker’s love for them. You are precious, my friend and I love you.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 13:11-12, “Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet each other with Christian love.”

I declare God faithful.