If you were to ask me what my favorite thing about Gabon is,
I might give you a different answer than you would expect. If you know me well,
you probably would expect me to say the children I get to spend my days with.
It could also be expected for me to say that it’s the friendships built and new
and amazing culture that I am in. But the answer I’ll give you is much simpler
and yet so much deeper, my favorite thing about Gabon is God.
I really mean it. When I think about the beginnings, ends,
and in-betweens of each day one thing hasn’t changed, and that would be the
constant crushing love of my Father. I have never felt closer to the Creator of
the universe than I have in Gabon. I have never felt as beautiful and strong as
I have in Gabon. I have never seen or
understood His voice as clearly or loudly as I have in Gabon. I have never been
as pursued or convicted as I have been here in Gabon. I have never felt as
loved by Him or in Love with Him as I have been in Gabon. It’s this Love, deep
and consuming that has begun to direct my life.
We all know what it feels like to be unloved, many of us
know what it is to be loved, but how few of us know what Love is. How many of
us are acknowledging that Love with every breath we inhale and are proclaiming
it with word we speak. Do we see the way He romances us or the constant
reminders of His passionate love for us? Are we listening just to hear Him say
are name, in a way that familiar way that repeats His full knowledge of
everything about us? Are we waiting for moments that we have with Him,
understanding that it’s only His presence that we desire? Are we looking for
Him person that we meet, knowing that He is in everyone and everything? Do we recognize
His touch, aware that He is with us even before He announces Himself? Do we
know what it is to be loved by and in love with our Creator?
You see, I don’t wake up anymore and wonder whom I can
serve, love, or help, instead I simply ask my God to help me be aware of His
love. The funny thing is, the more and more I see how deeply He loves me I
begin to see His love more clearly; Love that extends beyond me to each and every
one of His beloved children, and I become a part of it.
If you want to love
the world, you don’t start there, it’s impossible. Love God, and you will find
it not only possible but easy to love each and every one here in this world.
This is what God has been teaching me. I don’t need to have endless patience or
never-ending self-control; I simply need to let Him declare His love for me because
it is all I will ever need.
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