Faith, hope & charity (Part 2)

(Continuing on the theme of my first work-in-progress presentation for the Far Corners Women’s Conferences to be delivered in March)

The story of Abraham and Sarah, and the birth of their son Isaac is the story of how God established his Covenant, or promise, with His people.  It is a story of joy and hope.  It tells us how something that seems impossible is made possible by God.

Sarah laughed to herself when she heard the promise.  God responded to her laughter with the question that we all must ask ourselves sometimes:  Is anything too hard for the LORD?

In my experience, the answer to that question is always no.   But sometimes it takes an awful lot of endurance to maintain your hope in the promise.

The Apostle Paul, in his letter to Romans, Chapter 5 – after he tells of how Abraham and Sarah were considered righteous because of their faith in God’s promise – says this about the source of hope:

¹ Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³ And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; ⁴ and perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

The story of Sarah and Abraham is a story of God’s faithfulness to those who believe in His promises.  He doesn’t promise us that we will get all we desire.  He doesn’t promise us an easy life or a life without grief.  But He promises us that we can have peace through faith in Jesus and that we can hope in the Glory of God.

And He promises us the Holy Spirit within us to give us power and strength and comfort to face the suffering and trials of life.  And that through those experiences, we can find and renew our hope.  What a wonderful promise.  What a wonderful God.

Inspired by: Rachel

This is the last post of this series.  But really, maybe it all comes down to this.  I am taking a step in faith, and trying to live out my faith so that I can provide for this beautiful little girl the same kind of example my parents provided to me.  I want her to know that she is blessed and that she has been given much.  I want her to know that much is expected of you when you are richly blessed and that you must live generously and serve others.  I hope that will be the legacy she receives from her parents, as I received it from mine.

Faith, hope & charity (Part 1)

When I was a girl I had a charm bracelet that I’d received as a Christmas gift from my parents. One of the first charms I received for that bracelet was a charm of a cross, an anchor and a heart – representing faith (cross), hope (anchor) and charity/love (heart.)

The trio served as a visual reminder of the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 (the love chapter):

And now abide, faith, hope and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I’m thinking of this charm as I prepare my presentations for the conferences in India. My opening talk will focus on Sarah who with her husband Abraham are the “parents” of faith in the Bible. Despite their age and history and the total impossibility of the whole idea, they believed that God would somehow fulfil his promise that their descendants would number as the stars. They were both pushing 100 and had not managed to produce a child to that point. The whole plan was so ridiculous Sarah laughed out loud when she heard it.

But still they believed and hoped and ultimately the promise was fulfilled with the birth of Isaac. And their faith was counted to them as righteousness. (Romans 4:13-22 ). Amazing isn’t it?

Inspired by: Heather

(Second post in a series on those who have inspired me in to make this journey)

This is my friend Heather.  She’s one of the reasons I am going to India.  She’s going to be annoyed with me for posting this, I expect, but I think it needs to be said (and publicly).

Some 2 years ago, Heather was contemplating whether she would join our church’s first mission team travelling to India with Far Corners.  I was involved in the planning for that trip, and intended to go myself.  I strongly encouraged her to go, knowing that this would be an opportunity to step out of her comfort-zone, and one that she would not regret.

Long story, short: she went; I stayed home.  Her experience there was life-changing in many ways but that’s not my story to tell.

In the the past 15 months, since that team returned home, I’ve been getting to know Heather – through weekly coffee klatsch get-togethers, mixed curling, small group, local community events and through spending time together as families.  Heather is smart, very funny, focused, passionate and loving.  In short, she’s a great friend.

During that time, I’ve seen how she has been working at reconciling what she saw and learned in India with her life here.  She’s been able to remain involved as a liaison between Far Corners Ministry and our church.  This fall, she spearheaded and led our church’s very successful Christmas card fundraiser to benefit Far Corners Ministry and through it, the people of West Bengal.  And I’ve seen how, whenever an opportunity arises to provide help or support or give her time, she takes it and in doing so, makes a difference in the lives of those she encounters.

When the opportunity came for this 2nd trip to India, I knew I had to go and I hoped Heather would again join the team.  She wasn’t certain – she wanted to return, but there were many reasons why the timing wasn’t right.  She’s been struggling with this decision and I’ve been trying to support her in the process, while at the same time hoping that the result would be that we would be travelling together.

Unfortunately, Heather isn’t going to be joining our team in India.  I am deeply disappointed by this but I know it is the right decision for her and for her family.  And I know she will continue to support our team and the individual team members as we prepare,while we are away and when we return.

Heather’s deep desire to live out what she learned in India inspires me.  I hope that, on my return, I am able to live out the lessons I learn in the same way.  I’ve no doubt at all that Heather will insist I do just that and will hold me accountable as I do so.

Inspired by: Mom & Dad

There is no question in my mind about the origin of my desire to go out of this place I live in and serve others in need.  My parents taught by their example that this is what one must do.  When they were in their early 40s (as I am now), they took their first short-term missions trip to Columbia.  There were many other trips that followed, and ultimately, in 1990, they sold their farm so that they could spend 2 full years working and serving  poor and homeless people in Tuscon, Arizona.  In the years following, they took on projects with Mennonite Disaster Service including a project to rebuild burned-out churches in Alabama in 1996 that landed them in the June 24, 1996 issue of the US News and World Report:

Cornelius Driedger and his wife, Elsie, from Manitoba, will stay in Boligee until the work ends; he’s overseeing the project and she’s cooking for volunteers.  Says Elsie Driedger: “It doesn’t matter what race or what church, but that people are in need and you are able to help.” … The diverse volunteers are a reminder that, sometimes, all that is necessary for evil to fail is for good people to do something.

With that kind of example before me, the only thing that puzzles me is why it’s taken me so long to get going on this!

Give me Your Heart

I woke early this morning with a head full of fretting over details and tasks not yet completed in preparation for this mission to India.

To distract myself from my worries, I tried to focus on the real purpose of this trip – which is clearly not just about checking off all the items on my to do list.  As I reminded myself that I’m going to be a servant to others, literally as God’s “hands and feet” the words of this song came to mind:

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

And then, feeling properly focused, I was able to go back to sleep.

Blessed with restless discomfort and more

May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.

May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.

May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really CAN make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God’s grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.

AMEN.

via An Access to Justice Prayer | Lawscape.

This Franciscan prayer caught my eye and stirred my heart today.  I feel like these are blessings I have received, though I’ve never really thought of them as gifts from above.

 

Anticipation is building

The itinerary for our team’s work in India is nearly set.  We know we’ll be entering and exiting the country via New Delhi. We’ll spend a few days there at the start and finish of our work, but will spend most of our time in the area of Sikkim/West Bengal in the northeast.

Our plans include two 3-day conferences in different rural communities, with total attendance expected of in excess of 250.  Between the conferences, we’ll take some time to visit the Grace Ashram orphanage as well as some of the churches that Far Corners has worked with.

There are now less than 2 months remaining until our departure, and still so much to do in preparation.  Time to revisit that checklist and start ticking off a few more boxes.

I’ve chosen my speaking topics but have yet to flesh these out.  Stay tuned for summaries of these as future posts!

Thank you to all who’ve let me know you’re supporting this work through prayers, and to the many who have supported me through your interest in this project.  If you’re interested in providing financial support too, the deadline for contributing is at the end of this month.  For details on how to lend your support, please see my earlier post, I can’t do this alone.