A Lesson on Real Life Worship!
Wow, it has been quite a week. I met a girl named Jessica a few months ago at an outreach that we did here at Joe's Place called Torch. She surrendered her life to God and ever since I have been mentoring her as she grows into her relationship with Christ. It has been such a growing and learning experience becoming friends with her. She is 9 months pregnant with her third child and is working towards cleaning up her life free of drugs and alcohol and prostitution.
On Wednesday she asked me if I could drive her to Regina for a doctors appointment. I didn't have much on the go for Wednesday so I took the day off and went with her. It was a trip to Regina that I will never forget. She grew up in the 'hood/gheto' of Regina so that is where her doctor was. As we drove she pointed out to me memories she had in the place we drove by. "That's where I used to live with my kids before they got taken away from me...that's where my boyfriend almost murdered the guy and thats the dumpster he dumped his body...thats the car Brian used to live in...etc." Wow these were stories I hear of on the news or in movies but never have I met and been friends with someone who this was the reality of their life.
After the doctors appointment we went to visit her cousin and her children. My friends, I have never felt my heart break into as many pieces as it did this day. We walked in at 1 in the afternoon to find the children and parents all still sleeping. The three youngest kids had soiled their diapers at least three times and had not been changed. None of the kids had been fed that day including the 5 month old baby. The parents were hung over and so Jessica and I picked up the babies and took them down stairs to get them cleaned up. We looked for food in the house and all we could find were three cans of soup and four pieces of stail bread.
Jessica and I had just come from having lunch at Humpties and had brought our left overs with us. We gave our leftovers to the kids because there were no clean dishes to even make the soup in. I felt the love of God burning in my heart as I held these kids and fed them.
My friends I can't even write into words to the brokeness I felt holding and feeding these kids. You could tell they don't get held a lot and so for the next 3 hours I just hugged them, played with them and told them how precious and beautiful they were and that God loved them.
After an hour and a half of us being there the parents got up and I took the mom to the food bank for her to get food for her family. This was also such an eye opening experience as food that most of us would never think of eating cause it was too bruised or outdated her and her kids were rejoicing at how much great food was there. I usually don't think of myself as rich but I was reminded that I truly am blessed to have been raised in the home that I have been and have the opportunities that I have had.
After we returned from the food bank I looked around the house I didnt see one toy around. I asked one of the older boys what they do all summer and he responded "watch cable". At Humptys Jessica had found a yellow bouncy ball leaning up against my car wheel as we were about to leave and was like "Leanne, look it, we've been blessed". I smiled and was like cool I like balls. She brought it into the car and we had headed to her cousins. So when I noticed these kids had no toys I told charles, the lil two year, "hey budd I have something for you in my car. He ran to look and found the ball. His eyes lit up the size of the moon and was like "for me?" yep. Him and his lil sister and I just played catach for like 20 minutes before i had to go.
The reason I share all this with you is because while all this was going on that day Isaiah 58 continually kept coming to mind and replaying over and over again. I went home and the next morning read this passage. It reads as follows,
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD ? 6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness [a] will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. "
It broke my heart to see the way these young kids lived in neglect and fear. I felt utterly hopeless at first because I don't have any means to help these kids out of their situation. However, as I read this passage I realized that if I feed them, provide for them, love them and point them to Christ that these good deeds will shine to them and give them hope in the darkness of their reality.
Jessica and I took two of the older kids back with us to Moose Jaw for a few days and took in and cherished every moment that I spent with her and those two precious kids. I loved them, played with them, fed them, taught them about Jesus and at the end of the week I knew that this is what real worship looks like. This is the kingdom of God. These are His precious children and He has placed us to be a light in the world to shine in the darkness and point children and families who are broken and in despair to the love and hope that is found only in Jesus Christ.
May you feel spurred on to feed the hungry, meet the needs of the oppressed and show grace to those who society frowns upon and shake their fingers at; and remember we too don't deserve the grace and blessings of God but He is merciful and loves us and delights over us and we have been called to do the same. May we all learn how to be the hands and feet and mouthpieces of God to a wicked and depraved world and shine like stars in the darkenss.
On Wednesday she asked me if I could drive her to Regina for a doctors appointment. I didn't have much on the go for Wednesday so I took the day off and went with her. It was a trip to Regina that I will never forget. She grew up in the 'hood/gheto' of Regina so that is where her doctor was. As we drove she pointed out to me memories she had in the place we drove by. "That's where I used to live with my kids before they got taken away from me...that's where my boyfriend almost murdered the guy and thats the dumpster he dumped his body...thats the car Brian used to live in...etc." Wow these were stories I hear of on the news or in movies but never have I met and been friends with someone who this was the reality of their life.
After the doctors appointment we went to visit her cousin and her children. My friends, I have never felt my heart break into as many pieces as it did this day. We walked in at 1 in the afternoon to find the children and parents all still sleeping. The three youngest kids had soiled their diapers at least three times and had not been changed. None of the kids had been fed that day including the 5 month old baby. The parents were hung over and so Jessica and I picked up the babies and took them down stairs to get them cleaned up. We looked for food in the house and all we could find were three cans of soup and four pieces of stail bread.
Jessica and I had just come from having lunch at Humpties and had brought our left overs with us. We gave our leftovers to the kids because there were no clean dishes to even make the soup in. I felt the love of God burning in my heart as I held these kids and fed them.
My friends I can't even write into words to the brokeness I felt holding and feeding these kids. You could tell they don't get held a lot and so for the next 3 hours I just hugged them, played with them and told them how precious and beautiful they were and that God loved them.
After an hour and a half of us being there the parents got up and I took the mom to the food bank for her to get food for her family. This was also such an eye opening experience as food that most of us would never think of eating cause it was too bruised or outdated her and her kids were rejoicing at how much great food was there. I usually don't think of myself as rich but I was reminded that I truly am blessed to have been raised in the home that I have been and have the opportunities that I have had.
After we returned from the food bank I looked around the house I didnt see one toy around. I asked one of the older boys what they do all summer and he responded "watch cable". At Humptys Jessica had found a yellow bouncy ball leaning up against my car wheel as we were about to leave and was like "Leanne, look it, we've been blessed". I smiled and was like cool I like balls. She brought it into the car and we had headed to her cousins. So when I noticed these kids had no toys I told charles, the lil two year, "hey budd I have something for you in my car. He ran to look and found the ball. His eyes lit up the size of the moon and was like "for me?" yep. Him and his lil sister and I just played catach for like 20 minutes before i had to go.
The reason I share all this with you is because while all this was going on that day Isaiah 58 continually kept coming to mind and replaying over and over again. I went home and the next morning read this passage. It reads as follows,
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD ? 6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness [a] will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. "
It broke my heart to see the way these young kids lived in neglect and fear. I felt utterly hopeless at first because I don't have any means to help these kids out of their situation. However, as I read this passage I realized that if I feed them, provide for them, love them and point them to Christ that these good deeds will shine to them and give them hope in the darkness of their reality.
Jessica and I took two of the older kids back with us to Moose Jaw for a few days and took in and cherished every moment that I spent with her and those two precious kids. I loved them, played with them, fed them, taught them about Jesus and at the end of the week I knew that this is what real worship looks like. This is the kingdom of God. These are His precious children and He has placed us to be a light in the world to shine in the darkness and point children and families who are broken and in despair to the love and hope that is found only in Jesus Christ.
May you feel spurred on to feed the hungry, meet the needs of the oppressed and show grace to those who society frowns upon and shake their fingers at; and remember we too don't deserve the grace and blessings of God but He is merciful and loves us and delights over us and we have been called to do the same. May we all learn how to be the hands and feet and mouthpieces of God to a wicked and depraved world and shine like stars in the darkenss.
posted by LEANNE @ 12:41 a.m.
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