Musings as our Trip Approaches

Last night at small group, we were asked something like, “How has God proven to be faithful in your life?”  Pretty easy for all of us in the room to answer, as we all have families that love us, comfortable houses, and plenty of food.  As the kids we are about to meet in Ukraine are always on my mind these days, I wondered how they would answer that question.  Every adult in their family has either died, left, or outright rejected them.  They are chronically cold and hungry.  Loving authority figures are rare in their lives.  How is God visible to them? 

Or, do I have it backwards?  How can we, in a culture so full of luxuries and self-promotion, recognize our need for Him?  We quench our thirst with stuff, with activities that are meaningless in the end, and are indifferent to the fact that if we tune all that out and focus on how God can fulfill us, nothing else matters. 

It will be an honor to be God’s ambassador to these children in Ukraine; to show them what His love looks like and give them hope, and confidence that no matter what happens in their lives, they have a Father that is always with them.  In the same breath, I pray that it will put things in perspective in our own lives, and show us what we need to do to cut out the distractions that are keeping us at arm’s length. 

Lifechurch.tv recently released a documentary called Restore that really impacted me.  You can search for it on YouTube if you’d like to see it.  One of the things I got from it is that we in America tend to have this impression that Christianity and American culture are solidly linked, and that we always know what’s best for everybody else.  We need to step away from that attitude and realize that God is EVERYWHERE.  God speaks hundreds of languages and is every color of skin.  It can be miraculous to see God working in ways we would never imagine here in our safe little bubble.  I am eager to see how God is working in Ukraine—a place so full of darkness and despair.