Becoming A Receiver

         I am learning that God has so much to teach each one of us about who He is; from the beginning of time, the sacrifice of His son, the redeeming power that lies within the grace He willingly gives, and the incredible ways He loves us. We can spend the rest of time constantly learning the true joys this life has to offer when we live it to glorify Him. There is so much more than just going through the motions, so much more than wishing and dreaming, and so much more than our average, ordinary lives. With Jesus, we learn the value of every moment, we can pray with expectation of being heard, and we find ourselves in the middle of a life full of adventure, purpose, and hope! 
       One thing I am learning to enjoy, or at least embrace, about being here has been that every day is different. I come from a background that everything is the same, there is a routine, everyone has their job, and there is an order things happen, etc. But here, despite the children's schedule, something new comes up daily. It tests my endurance, stretches my flexibility, pushes my limits, and as a result, my comfort zone ceases to exists. Just when I found myself being comfortable with the daycare activities, I was introduced to the after school program. Soon after I met most of the mothers that come to the daycare, I was asked to reach out to at least one of them. Not long after attending Bible study, I was challenged to disciple one of the mothers. It hasn't taken long to realize that everything I feel like I have already given up cannot compare to what God is asking of me. True surrender means giving every part of who I am in order for Him to move, letting go of what I desire in order to experience His blessing, and daily taking that step of faith in order to walk on the path He marked out for me. He hasn't promised that I will feel equipped, guaranteed that I will know exactly what to do, cleared every obstacle, or told me this was going to be easy; all He asks is that I give all I am and I will receive His glorious blessing!
       We had dinner with Ms. Audrey this week, a close friend of Ms. Pearl's, and she said something that has stuck in my mind ever since, "You know sometimes God will ask you to give all you have in order to become a receiver." She had no idea how deep that touched my spirit and how soon I would receive something so precious! Thursday was my birthday and you can even ask my mother, I never have any ideas of what I want or need, so I wasn't expecting anything. Well I came into the classroom that morning and those beautiful children sang the best Happy Birthday song ever, followed by some cake and ice cream that rapidly filled them with enough energy to last the rest of the week! Praising God for the love I have for them and the love they so freely have for me! He truly has so much to give us if we are open and willing to receive it!