Just love a little deeper…
Just love a little deeper - I tell myself, as I remember the very day we submerged
ourselves into such poverty. The kind of
poverty that brings old blind men to your gate for some food, desperate thief’s
to your borders at night, the kind of poverty that never ceases to overwhelm
you with its pain, suffering and hopelessness.
We root ourselves a little deeper, and deeper as time moves on… to only
realize that what we have given our very lives for is but a drop in the vast ocean. 10 might try to deceive you and have ulterior
motives, but 2 will stand for truth – and those two are enough. We give, and give and give of ourselves and
some grasp the sacrifice, while others expect it. It tests and rips apart our very beings, and
we hold on to yet another day.
Our kids are born in this beautiful nation filled with
shattered hearts; Burundi is in us, has become a part of us, as much as we may
fight that “in times that just seem so rough”.
The deeper our effort, ministry and work goes, the more broken we become
- the less we are of who we were. In the
midst of it all, I hear the whisper of a gentle voice… just love a little
deeper.
Embrace and hold on… if one doesn’t live for something to die for, they don’t live – I once heard.
Then a gentle spirit & “bursting at the seams” smile comes around the corner, and Marie embraces me (a genuine, I love you with all that is within me, kind of embrace). Suddenly – everything seems just right. I go from questioning the sacrifices made to trying to fathom God’s immeasurable love for these children that he ripped away from unspeakable trauma and pain; and the fact that he felt we were qualified enough to be a part of His redemption in their lives. Well, we were pretty messed up ourselves, before He got a hold of us… and yes, He does take the weak things and turns them into beauty… They have life. They are alive. They have redemption. Their hope is ever-present, in Him. Jesus, loved a little deeper. They persecuted Him, rejected and killed Him… and still He chose to love a little deeper – even unto death.
Embrace and hold on… if one doesn’t live for something to die for, they don’t live – I once heard.
Then a gentle spirit & “bursting at the seams” smile comes around the corner, and Marie embraces me (a genuine, I love you with all that is within me, kind of embrace). Suddenly – everything seems just right. I go from questioning the sacrifices made to trying to fathom God’s immeasurable love for these children that he ripped away from unspeakable trauma and pain; and the fact that he felt we were qualified enough to be a part of His redemption in their lives. Well, we were pretty messed up ourselves, before He got a hold of us… and yes, He does take the weak things and turns them into beauty… They have life. They are alive. They have redemption. Their hope is ever-present, in Him. Jesus, loved a little deeper. They persecuted Him, rejected and killed Him… and still He chose to love a little deeper – even unto death.
Today, I say Lord “teach us to love a little deeper” to fight
for the “one” and the next one, and the next 10. Simply because you did.
