PERSONAL STUFF
Hey,
I am in the 4th chapter of the Radical book and I just wanted to share a thought I had while reading it. One of the first things David Platt talks about is how America is so focused on wealth and material things. Living the American dream means getting more stuff; that to be successful, you have to acquire more. When the reality is, the more stuff you own, the more the stuff owns you. You have to clean it, store it, get a bigger place for it, etc.
And I started thinking about how you, for years have been the opposite of this way of thinking. You didn’t buy bedroom sets, living room furniture, a nicer car, or expensive clothes. Your life was kept to a minimum of necessities. And that is what all of us should be doing. Buying just enough to get by, and using the rest of our money to help those who cannot help themselves. Give them food in their stomachs, and clothes on their backs, then opens the door for us to show them God’s love.
Which brings me to my next thought. Maybe the reason you have been unsatisfied in your job/life, is because God has been grooming and growing you for a special purpose. That He will use you (if you allow Him) to do something amazing and totally fulfilling in showing His love to others. Your desire to travel can be used to go to places others will not be willing to go. Your desire to live a simple life keeps you freed up from being tied down to ‘stuff’ like the rest of us are. Think about what we have to go through before we can go on a vacation for a weekend. We have to make sure someone feeds the dog, collects the mail, etc. You don’t really have all the burdens that most people have. Even the fact that you are not married and have your heart tied up (not the best choice of words, but you get my meaning) in a husband and children, frees you to many more possibilities. You also have a passport which most people do not have so you can travel to other countries, not just here in the US.
I guess the point I’m making is this, maybe the reason you moved back home, paid off your debts, have a desire to travel, and are going to a church that is fixing to give a “Radical” challenge to everyone there, is because God is offering you the opportunity to do be involved in something bigger than anything you could have ever dreamed of. Something that will be so satisfying and fulfilling that you will know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this is where you are meant to be, that this is what you are supposed to be doing with your life, and that you could not have ever imagined doing anything else that felt so right.
God is always at work around us, saving those that do not know Him. He does not want anyone to spend eternity away from Him. And those of us who do know Him, have a choice as to whether or not we will help Him. It’s not like he ‘needs’ us, or that we are doing Him a favor by helping. We can choose to help or not. If not, God will find someone else, and we will miss out on a blessing, on that amazing feeling of knowing we pleased our Father, on being a part of something that matters, something eternal.
I ask you to keep your eyes and heart open to that still, small voice in the next few weeks as we study about how we can all change our lives in a radical way. To consider what I have said and know that your father and I love you very much, and want the best life possible for you.
I am proud to call you my daughter!
-Mom J