PARIS POST.
I went to Paris several months ago.
That is so crazy.
Last week, the missionary we worked with was on campus for GO Week, so we met up as a team and talked about the trip: what we have changed, what we haven’t and what challenges we’ve faced.
It was such a refreshing time of reflection. Coming back from that trip was so overwhelming — I had been confronted with my ridiculous neglect of sharing the gospel. I was so afraid to share, but in Paris I was made aware that it is Christ that speaks & I need not be afraid.
I intended to come back and be bold like I was in Paris. I would seek out the lost in Jackson, in Birmingham and at Union. I’d be aware of what God is doing here just like I was there.
But routine seems to eat away at every last ounce of good intentions.
I wake up most days here with my mind set on getting the to-do list done, making it to class on time & pulling myself together enough to scramble through the day.
I do not wake up most days feeling desperately needy for the Spirit to give me eyes to see the lostness around me, to fill me with a heart that wants to share His love or to lead me to speak to whom He would want me to.
During that trip, His grace was all I had to sustain me. I did not want to endure conversations with people I didn’t know. I did not want to face the prospect of rejection or discomfort. Yet He carried me through.
When I shared this discontent with the missionary, he answered in His typical convicting fashion. Who said just because you start the day off wrong, it has to be that way all day? Why can’t you stop in the middle of your day and ask for grace?
Here’s to starting fresh. Right now.
Almighty God, you alone can bring into order the unruly
wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to
love what you command and desire what you promise; that,
among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts
may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
