Praise!!!! and pain....
Submitted by Scott on August 25 1999 at 00:26:28
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Greetings brethren in the Lord! (and the occasional sister or two) I have such joy in my heart right now i need to praise His name! i recently spent the summer serving the Lord and watching Him work. as i look back at it all, it is a big blur of faces and fun and time and laughter and crying and hugs and scraped knees and stories and special friendsships. through it all, was the incredible power of our God and His son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. i am struggling to find the words to say how wonderful a God we have. i have seen His work this summer, seen him turn people 180 degrees, seen him humble the mighty, seen him save the lost, and still have time for me. it was one of the longest, most tiring, humbling, and wearying summers of my life. that makes it even more incredible to think about how Jesus can work through such an earthen vessel as myself. the times i could see Him clearly were not the good times, the relaxing times, but the times i was frustrated, angry, tired, unwilling, ungrateful, and just plain human. those times He lifted me up and washed me white clean and set me back down again, when i could not do it myself. i praise His name with each breath right now, i have such a glorious feeling inside. i thank HIm for being such a wonderful God to be able to be a friend to each and every one of us all at the same time. but my joy is tempered by my pain. not the physical pain, although there was plenty of that, but by the pain of humanity. i feel the joy and love, and i know that i will be in heaven someday. but, i see so much evil in the world, and i know that some of the boys i met this summer will not be in heaven. (well, i dont know for certain, but i do know that they do not know the Lord, and have no desire to do so.) it leaves me wondering, why? i continue to trust in Him, and His wonderful boundless mercy, and though i cry for the lost and the burdened, i believe in His plan for all of us. scott |