Waiting for Me

Allow me to pull you into my throbbing heart for a second, won't you please??
Then don't leave. We need to stick together; work together.

Photo, Joshua. Post processing, me.

Suddenly at the edge of the clearing my feet shuffle to a stop, eyes find the ground. A strange lump grows in my throat.
I'm struck with the sense that in this moment, God is here. And this, is holy ground.
I step, but oh so carefully, eyes still down. And just to the edge of Ascension Rock.
When I lift them, all burning and moist, all is quiet. All but my throbbing heart, crying out. Soft, I speak to the God so close, I can feel Him.

"My God, what have we done?


Why are we still here?"


My question trails into the breeze. But only for one moment.

Then, His voice. Silent as it is, I have never heard one kinder.

"Why,... I was just waiting for you."

 

Another Great Awakening

A half-dozen Nebbletts merge into the foot traffic while checking apps for the departure gate. 

Charlie twenty-two.

We've got three hours. There's no hurry. 

Soft, the hum of smooth wheels on polished floors fills my ears. 

These sights and sounds are almost familiar enough to be home, but still there's a spark. I recognize wonder in it all... 

I watch faces. Note destinations. 

Count three 747s in a row, all in preflight at the terminal's heart. 

Manilla, Narita, Seoul, 

London, Amsterdam...

From Detroit?

Suddenly, I'm struck.

The world is so small.

So small...

I finally settle into a sun-bathed seat at C22 after extracting a vibrating iPhone from my pocket.

And I'm reminded just how large is the family of faith we belong to...

Big family, small world.

That email was typed in Europe. As were the 6 before it. And 40 others like it I've received today. They're proof that something is happening on the other side of the Atlantic, and around the globe, something it's our privilege, our duty, to be a part of...

I call it another great awakening.

And it's fueled by prayers, and tears, and sweat, and blood...

The question is, is it fueled by me?

In a few months time, I'll be among the number flying to Austria for GYC in Europe. I hope some of you will too... 

But do you know what I hope even more?

I hope somehow we'll all come to understand how small the world is. 

How much we need to pray for one another.

And I hope you'll fuel the awakening in Europe especially, with your prayers, with your friends.

In your bible study group. Or youth group. Or on Skype. Whatever. 

Let's fuel the fire, and change the world. 

What Really Counts

Around the world, and back again...

Part of my heart is still in Southeast Asia. 

What remains of me has been completely transformed. 

I'm an American. Make no mistake. 

But I don't see the world like the typical American. Not any more...

I cross the threshold back into my office/studio/bedroom at 0300, clap twice. Soft lights around the perimeter of the ceiling surge, illuminate the place. I stop and stare.

Is this my world?

Yes. 

No...

Morning light comes. (3 hours later.)

I press the silver button that will bring my MacPro to life. It doesn't. 

I hear the sounds of a failing hard drive.

Thank you Jesus!

No, I'm serious. That's exactly what I said. 

Do you know that stress is a choice?

Do you know that life is about much more than emails, work, school, stuff?

Or shall I say, much less?

Ask my Cambodian friends.

I work in the garden instead of the office. Then I leave home again, after 48 hours. In my flip flops. My dead computer stays. I thank Jesus for [another] Seagate failure all the way to Oklahoma... 

Because to eat, to sleep, to pray...

To serve,

this is life. 

And my computer, and my email, and my to-do list... These other things that dominate when someone asks me what I'm going to do today? 

Those are actually accessories.

On this trip, the accessories stayed home. My iPhone went to Europe in Joshua's pocket. 

And I just loved people.

I've never felt so alive.