Love, Serve.

It was only a few days before my mission trip to Guatemala.. I opened the Word for my morning devotion and I landed on Mark 10:45...
"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."
I thought about this for a little bit, and went on with my day.
Every morning after that, I came across some verse or some reading material that's focus was on being a servant, a SELFLESS servant.
I thought, well this is perfect before a mission trip! God must be teaching me something. It wasn't until I got there that I realized how strongly He wanted me to understand this.

I have been working on this post for a while, but what I have come to realize is that I can't really explain or put into words all that I learned from this experience, but I will attempt to. I hope that by this blog you are blessed, and that you understand another aspect of life.

I don't know if you have ever felt so much love that you can't really contain it inside. I never had, until I experienced the family of Christ in Guatemala. It began at church on the first Saturday that I was there. I woke up that morning feeling so much peace, and when I got to the first church we went to, we were greeted with a hug and a kiss from EVERYONE in the church. When we got to the second church, the love that was contained in the building couldn't help but enter my heart. 25 people were baptized and the people rejoiced and sang. I thought that this is how its supposed to be, if we really allowed ourselves to understand how powerful it is when someone is made new in Christ, we would have no option but to sing and praise God at the top of our lungs. I thought about how Jesus's heart must feel when one of His children choose LIFE.

This love that I felt and experienced, can happen anywhere. I pray everyday that I can be a channel of the love of God, and even if someone doesn't remember the words that I say, or the actions I take, but they remember the love I shared, then my life has purpose.

This love compelled me to serve. Not to serve because it's what we went there to do, but to serve because that's what happens when you love. To love is to serve, to serve is to love. Everywhere I went, I wanted people to know that not only I love them, but Christ loves them.

This love changed my view of life. I realized there that my life is for NO other purpose but to serve Christ and to serve others. Many times I have heard Matthew 22:37-40, where Christ states that we must love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, and mind and that we must love others, but I never really understood these words in action. The Word of God is understood when we put it's principles into ACTION.

Once I realized that I was MADE to love, I couldn't help but love. I was blessed to be able to get to know a handful of kids. They worked with us, they ate with us, and they taught me a lot about love. I am sure that if you keep reading my blog, you will hear about them. Saying goodbye to them on our last day at the campus, was one of the hardest, emotionally draining experiences I have ever experienced. I didn't understand how I could fall in love so quickly with all of these kids, but I knew that God wanted this for me. I think about them everyday, and I wonder if they are okay, and if they have eaten, and if they know that someone loves them, and most importantly if they know that God loves them. I wonder if I will ever see them again, if God will call me back to Guatemala, or if I will just have to patiently wait, and meet them at the gates of heaven. And then I thought...

We have a God who feels this way about each of us. He wants us to understand His love. I have been SO blessed in my life. How could I even be okay with not living my life to help others who don't have these blessings? How come its SO easy to forget that the fact that we have food to eat is a HUGE blessing? Why do I have so much, when many have so little?

I don't know why God puts us in the life that He does. I don't know why I was put in a family where love is never on a shortage. I don't know why I have never had to worry about what I was going to eat, or if I would have food at all that day. I don't know. But I do know that I was put here for a reason. And I KNOW that reason was NOT to just sit back and enjoy it. I learned that if I am not a blessing to others, I am a curse. I don't want to live my life just taking up space. I want to be love in action.

Guatemala has a small piece of my heart. I loved there like I never have in my life. It was here that I realized that God is calling me to serve with my life. Not to give 1/4th of my self, not one-half, but the WHOLE thing. I don't know where God will send me next. I know that I miss my family in Guatemala, and all my little brothers. But I don't know where God is calling me in my life. I am okay with this. In HIS time I will know. For now, I have to serve here. I have to love here. And I have to pray, hard.

P.S. There is so much more I want to share, and that I will share. I will be posting pictures of my trip soon! God bless you all :)