Have you ever read
Malachi 3:10? Well, it says this, “
Bring the whole tithe into my storehouse, so that there may be food in My
house, and test me now in this, ‘ says the Lord of hosts,’ if I will not
open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it
overflows.” Do you get the impression
here that God is smiling, daring you to try and out- give Him? I do, and it
gives me chills. This is how I see this scripture in my mind (and as a girl,
sorry guys!). Ok, it’s like being invited to a ball. You are standing by the
wall looking radiant, calm and collected in your gown, but inside you are
quivering with anticipation. Is He coming? Will He ask you to dance? You’ve
already told Him you skipped out on ballroom dancing classes, so you are going
to be a little lost, and you’re probably going to step on His toes! Then, He
comes. There is no hesitation, no fear in His perfect love for you, and as you
take the extended hand He offers to you, you are pleasantly surprised when He
sweeps you off your feet ( hidden by your long dress), and places your feet on
top of His for this dance that He knows the steps to… Just like when you were a
child, and your Dad walked around the kitchen, with you clinging to his legs
and standing on his feet. Ok, so if you are a girl you KNOW what I am talking
about. If you’re a guy, I think you get the picture. I believe, with everything
in my being, that God has called us to a life of love. A life lived knowing
that, when we are living like He created us to live and loving like He loved,
we are free. He even places our feet on top of His in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8,
when He gives us instructions on how to love like He does. I was challenged
recently to place my name in the “love” part of this passage, and it really
convicted me when I got through all four of those verses. “ Joie, is kind and
patient…”. Ok, I think you know what I
am talking about, and really, I am none of those things, but have you tried to
BE love in this passage before? What does that look like for you? And this is
what we are called to do, how we are called to live and love one another, regardless
of where we are or what we are doing. An example of this in my own life is
work, my job. To understand this completely, I should explain that I am a
Pediatric Home Health nurse, basically a high-stress, glorified, babysitting
position, where I am usually either sitting and monitoring patients, or running
around like a chicken with my head chopped off. Recently, I was placed on night shift, yes,
the eleven to seven awesomeness shift! Three days a week, in addition to
school, family and whatever else keeps me busy throughout the week. Two words
for this situation come to mind: A LOT! After some prayer, and asking Jesus to
help me view this through my, “Jesus lens,” another two words came to mind: NIGHT
WATCH. How many people do you know, get paid to stay up through the night to
pray for other people? This girl does. Of course I am going to be doing my job, to the best of my ability, but really, what better way to look
at this situation? I don’t know yet why, but maybe it is to pray for you? And maybe it’s because He is
preparing me for something he has prepared and planned later on down the road
for me. I don’t know, but He does.
Ok, so really, there is
a reason you are reading this extremely long blog! It is because I would
really like to ask you to join me in prayer, yet again, for Haiti. For Jesus. Haiti.
Me. I don’t understand what He is doing in my heart, much like I don’t
completely understand the , “ night watch,” but I am pursuing Him, and a huge
part of me feels pulled towards Haiti so I am going, and I am in much need of
your prayers. My plan, is to not have a plan, but to surrender my life to
Jesus, day by day, moment by moment and second by second. I’m sure you can
relate! No five year plans for me!!! Part of this plan, for now, seems to be
going back to Haiti for a little while, and I am rising to the offer and
challenge, to try and out-give God. I am wanting to go for one month, the month of December,
to try and pour out of this vessel what God has seen fit to overflow with
Himself. This is why I need you to pray.
So, as you pray for me, please pray for me to give my all to Jesus and to
follow Him with reckless abandon. I need you to earnestly pray that my faith will
be sure and strong, my ears ready to hear, my eyes ready to see and my heart
ready to receive and discern. As always, you can be sure that I am praying for
you as Jesus leads me to, and that I am full of His love towards you. As I am on my, “night watch,” I will be praying for you sincerely and
earnestly.