But Can You Make Them Breakfast?

A couple weeks ago Michaela and Cody had to leave to go back to the states for medical purposes.  This left Elise, Naomi (two women around my age who also live with the Fulks) and myself in charge of 6 kids.  We were more than happy to help in this way so Michaela and Cody could take care of themselves, but weren't sure how the next few weeks were going to go.  

I was praying one morning a couple days after they left and just told God how overwhelmed I was feeling.  The thought of the weeks ahead taking care of 6 kids in a foreign country was too much to handle in that moment.  I'm not sure why I was particularly anxious that day.   I knew the way the house ran, the kids had been doing really well since mom and dad had left, and everything was running smoothly.  But whatever the reason, I was overwhelmed.  

I told God that I didn't think I could do this and honestly His response surprised me.  I felt God saying, "It's okay if  you don't think you can take care of the kids the next couple weeks, but can you make them breakfast?  You see, I love these kids and they don't have their parents to care for them right now.  They're going to get hungry, so will you make them breakfast for Me?"

Yeah, I can make them breakfast.

Although this time has challenged me, it has been beautiful what God has taught me.

1. We don't need to get through it all, we need to get through the next moment.  God is not asking us to have it all figured out.  He's not asking us to take on tomorrow's burdens today.  Today has enough work, trouble, stress, anxiety, etc of it's own.  We don't need to worry about tomorrow, we simply need to take this moment God has given us and use it to love God and love the people around us and have faith that God will take care of us through the moments to come.  (Matthew 6:34, Hebrews 11:1)

2. We are dependent on God every moment, for He is the one that gives us the air we breathe.  Without His love and sustaining power, we wouldn't even be alive. If God has the power to keep us alive and breathing, He has the power to get us through any trial or challenge we may face.  His power is key though.  In our own strength we will fail, but through Him we are more than conquerers (John 16:33, Romans 8:37).

3. Joy of the Lord is our strength, and in His presence is where we find our joy. God is so good to us all the time. He is constantly providing for all our needs and meeting us where we're at.  When caught in a cycle of stress, anxiety, and complaining, ask God to show you where his provisions are. Ask Him to open your eyes to His goodness.  It's there and Jesus is more than happy to show you the blessings He is pouring out on you (Nehemiah 8:10, Psalm 16:11).

Following Where He Leads

You never know where you'll end up when you're following the Holy Spirit. As we continue to go out and share Christ's love with women on the street we are continually reminded of our dependence on God and His guidance.

The last several times we've gone out to share Jesus with women on the streets, we have felt that there were one or two specific women we were supposed to talk to.  One night, God gave two of us on the team a picture of specifically where we were to go. He also gave another team member a picture of a blue dress. Naturally, we assumed that we were to go to that place and talk to a woman in a blue dress. Well we were wrong...kind of.

We got to the location, walked in confidently, and found a small room of slot machines The only people in this place were men. A little confused, we walked out. As we exited the place, we saw a woman standing on the corner of an alley. She was wearing a blue dress. Aha! She's the one we should talk to. As we approached her and struck up a conversation, we could tell she was not having it. We were interrupting her night and making her lose potential business. However her friend was willing to talk. Then after a few minutes she wanted us to go with her into a bar. So we followed her there. After a series of conversations and being led from one group of women to another we found ourselves on the “patio” of this bar, speaking with two women. We naturally divided the conversation and got into more personal one on one conversations.  I was able to share with one woman how God had changed my life.  She had struggled with similar doubts, fears, and lies.  My friend was able to pray in a meaningful way with the other woman.  

We don't know the fruit of those conversations and times of prayer. We don't necessarily know how God used that time to affect those women. That's not our place. Jesus never promises us that we will see fruit from what He asks us to do, but he does promise that His Word will not return void. We are simply to follow where He leads, which often times does not look like what we thought it would.