“The sun comes up, it’s a new day dawning
It’s time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes”
This is the song of my heart this morning. This past week I took the “Urban Plunge” with the Jr High/High School ministry of New Harvest Church. Steven and I attend The Well Community Church, but had always wanted to check out NHC because their head pastor, Mitch Rebera, married us last May {we love him and his family!} When checking out the service in June, they went over the news/events happening within the chruch and mintoned their youth ministry was going to do this plunge. I immediately looked at Steven and smiled…he knows my heart for missions {to love on others} he just smile and nodded, knowing my excitement. I came home and emailed Josh, the Jr High pastor/college friend of mine, and asked if there was room for one more. It’s awsome how God uses the talents He gives us to further His kingdom, because they quickly asked if I’d bring my camera along to document the trip. Any time I can use my camera to capture events/emotions as they unfold…it’s magical in my heart.
This song is a great reminder to me of the week because we sang it a few times, but not only that, the lyrics speak to my soul. “It’s time to sing Your song again” It’s crazy how easy it is to be comfortable. To be content. To forget to be thankful for these amazing lives we live or rest your burdens on Him. During the week we encountered people “not from our world” the ones we truly try to avoid or cast out. The ones sitting on corners that most days feel invisible. The ones who have been beat down by the weight of life. Some of them are in the positions they are in by poor choices yes, but some are there by no choice of their own. These are the people, not unlike us, in need of the Light of the world. In our down time we talked about the latin phrase “Imago Dei” meaning “Image of God,” if ALL people are made in His image, why do we look down to those in need rather than building them up? I’m not talking about rushing the streets singing “Jesus Loves You” although that might be pretty awesome. I’m talking about the simplicity of a smile, a cheerful “good morning,” or just taking the time to make people feel alive. It’s easy to fall into the darkness of this world and feel invisible. But God cares. He truly cares.
“…whatever lies before me. Let me be singing when the evening comes” There were many times throughout the week we pushed the kiddos {and ourselves} to step out of their comfort zone and live out the week with a heart ready to serve. We lead a Sports Camp with Kim, of World Impact, at a park in the part of town they call “The Devil’s Triangle.” It’s where three main freeways connect and create a triangle out of the neighborhoods lying within. For three days I saw many parents drop off their kids at the park leaving them there with nothing to do. It’s SO easy to get into trouble when you have nothing better to do. But that’s why we were there. When we arrived each day Josh and our kids would walk around the park encouraging kids to come play, hang out and grab lunch. This was intentionally loving others. The beauty was in the simplicity. How easy is it to kick around a soccer ball or draw with chalk? Simple right? We had almost 30 neighborhood kids each day. These kids were craving for attention they so desparately need and deserve. We were there 2.5 hours a day for 3 days. It was shocking to me how many of them called us by name and connected with us in such a short period of time. On days like that, when you live out the gospel, its easy to ‘be singing when the evening comes.’
