I need to share a moment. A story. This blog is my only outlet for that type of thing, so here is a break from my normal "here is what we've done and look at my kids" post.
Have you ever seen something that you knew would stick with you forever? For good or bad, it sparked a feeling in you that you knew you would never shake. And when the feeling faded, the memory remained. That's what happened to me last Sunday at church. The sermon was on pride, which inevitably applies to everyone. But everyone thinks it applies to other people more than to them individually. You know what I mean? It was that awkward moment at the end of the service where you are half introspective and half itching to get up and grab something off of the refreshment table. Because of my roaming thoughts, I was a little caught off guard when the pastor asked us if we would consider kneeling down to pray during the final song. If I'm being perfectly honest, my thoughts at the time were along the lines of "no way, I'm wearing a dress and this floor is hard and gross". In that moment, I saw the young couple in front of me begin to kneel down. This wasn't just any couple. These two particular people have been though hell in the last year. Please believe me when I say that I do not use that term lightly. The woman has been battling cancer. The man almost died last Christmas of strep that went septic. The doctors gave him very little chance to live. However, he made a miraculous recovery (much to the disbelief of the doctors) and was healed. He did, unfortunately, have his feet amputated in order to save his life. He is now in a wheelchair and is learning to use his prosthetic feet. This particular day, he was in the wheelchair with no prosthesis.
Fast forward to my "I'm too good for the icky floor" moment. My breath caught as I watched the man adjust his wheelchair so that the foot rests were out of the way. "No," I thought, "If anyone has an excuse to stay in a chair, he does". But he didn't. He raised himself up into the air with his arms and his wife helped lower him into kneeling position on the ground. He was kneeling to pray. To worship - with NO feet. And I was internally complaining about my dress. My dress! I was frozen. I was humbled. I didn't kneel, because I couldn't move. I was in awe of this man's faith, and ultimately, his belief that he is still whole because God's will is being played out in his life. And that's the beauty of it. He IS still whole. God completes him every day. And his story... his body...will continue to display God's grace and glory to people every day for the rest of his life.
I want to be one of those people. Not a perfect person. Not an "I have it all together" person. But a broken person still striving to be a picture of God's love to the world around me. And that brings me to the "Beginnings" part of this post. I am working with my church and our community to start a nonprofit organization! Details are still not ready to be shared, but I can say it involves feeding the overwhelming number of children in our community who are perpetually hungry. And feeding them nutritiously! I am so excited that God has chosen me to be a part of this project because it is my passion and my dream. So now I humbly wait for it to begin.
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