Live and Love
“Lord. . .thank you that we can pray to you now. Send us your Spirit so we can help those in need.“
To experience serenity is unforgettable. To start the day with a Zimbabwian refugee in an South African township praying for the Spirit to help him serve others. . .that humbles one to a peace that is unmistakable. Such a peace is more serene than anything I can imagine.
One would think travelling abroad would bring chaos and unsurety. It certainly brings a change of scenery, but oddly enough the switch up brings more clarity.
When I sit at Samford, or Greenville, or anywhere for long enough, things begin to seem the same. I get used to the culture, the needs, the blessings…it gets comfortable. I lose sensitivity, I lose perspective.
When I head to New York and walk through Wall Street, it switches things up. The culture is different, the needs are different, the blessings are much more materially abundant.
And then landing in Hong Kong – definitely a different culture, totally different world, hard to even understand what’s going on.
Then Cape Town proves to be a world of dichotomies – rich whites, poor blacks, misplaced coloureds. Where do I begin with seeing the needs? In fact, it’s hard, because the blessings of people’s joy are so abundant.
But with each changing scene, among the Gucci purses and the barefoot children, the first class flights and tin shacks, comes more clarity.
Clarity that life is precious no matter where it is. Clarity that people love and want to be loved, no matter how much they hide. Clarity that the best way I can spend each moment is to listen to life – the heavens declare, the skies proclaim, the people reflect – and live with love.
The place doesn’t matter, Manhattan penthouse or Masi shack. People are the same, and Love never fails.
