Open the eyes of my Heart

Here I am. Sitting in North Carolina in the great and mighty USA. Pictures from my filled-up walls jump out to me and threaten my eyes to release tears. Adventures arrive at my mind bringing memories of fun, beautiful, hard, emotional, spiritually-filling trips. From America to Africa, the stories I have to share continue to impact my life.  I read stories of friends who are in different countries, and their chance to serve the obvious physical need of 3rd world countries. I see them washing the feet of others, and my heart desires to wash the feet of those strangers whom I seem to love so openly and willingly. To show them the servanthood of Jesus, the humility of the King, the open arms of the Daddy. I am so blinded. I just can't seem to get it. I live in a country where food comes at the push of a button, water comes by just the pull of a lever (hot water for that matter), cars are starting to move without drivers, technology is rising even more and more powerfully. I con...

There is a God. He saves those who are hurt. He finds those who are lost. He redeems sin with no hesitation. He paints the skies with His majestic colors. He heals the sick. He mends broken hearts. He rescues the hungry. He brings wholeness to this broken land. And this God, who wants me, runs after me. Even when Satan pretends that I am not close to Him, I am. He is with me every day, hour, minute, second, never leaving my exposed side.  Day by day He renews my soul, even when I don't know it. And although I yearn for different places and countries, He comforts me. Blind, lost people all around the world--human beings--run towards nothing in hopes of finding something, without luck. But remember? My God finds those who are lost. My yearn to serve arises again, but for what reasons? "Show them ME," He says to my confused soul. But I thought I was supposed to help them, God. I thought I  was supposed to feed them, clothe them, give them water.  " Y...

Sometimes I find myself getting so caught up in what the world thinks. How it views me as a person, as an image, and as a being. And then slowly but surely it takes me down into brainwashing my mind to think like the world. I start viewing people that God created to be called into His Glory, as dirt. I start judging them for what they do, not what they CAN do. I start looking at them and think, "I'm better than them." And it TAKES ME DOWN. I believe that all this reasoning happens because I am so caught up in my own problems, issues, and self, that I forget about everyone else in the world. I forget that people are living on less than $1, and that 26,000 children die every day of starvation that I could prevent from happening with MY money. I forget about this past summer, when all I cared about was other people's problems. All I cared about was how I could further help them and further bring them closer and closer to Christ so they could do the same for others. The...

Silent Night. Holy Night. All is Calm. All is bright. What a beautiful song. But even more beautiful is the image that the song has put in my head. Last weekend, I had the wonderful privilege to sing a beautiful version of "Silent Night" to thousands of people. Over the course of the weekend, I really began to understand what the song meant. The reality is though, that no one knows what a silent night is. Can you imagine the night right before Jesus was born? No city street lights to break your vision of the stars, no car horns honking with angry passengers behind them, no music, movies, or media to break the complete stillness of the moment when Jesus--JESUS was born. Sometimes I climb up on the roof to gaze at the stars, but there's always something that interrupts my thoughts with the Lord, or a light to mess up my pure vision of a completely dark, star-filled sky. But just imagine. Imagine how little light there must have been for Mary and Joseph to make their way...