It is my first day off in eight days packed with work, visiting relatives, various adventures and challenges. While it has been a busy eight days, it has also been a glorious eight days! In amongst the preparing, working, travelling and conversing, I have seen testimony after testimony of God’s work. In the last eight days, I’ve had a tangible sense of God purposefully interweaving my life between the threads of His will, working the threads of His kingdom to make the mundane glorious, and to cover every corner of my living with His presence and direction. It strengthens me, gives me joy and makes my soul exuberant! This is the Spirit of God, and the life of God. This is the God who I love, and serve.
“Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.” [Matthew 6:9-10]
So, what exactly has been happening in the last eight days? Well, I’ve seen God work the following treasures in my life.
- TREASURE IN FAMILY
My parents-in-law visited us this week. Their arrival was much anticipated with my husband’s father coming all the way from Canada, and this trip being the first time both his parents would see our house. I was working various shifts on the four days they were here, and we went to church on two of the days, but we still managed to fit in a variety of activities both in and out of the house. They were very different from my family in so many ways, but I loved spending time with them!
While I loved the beach and the vineyards, my favourite moment was the worship and prayer we had together. I loved how my father-in-law lifted up a prayer of thanksgiving and blessing for the family. It had to be translated for me later because he prayed in his native language, but it was honest, open and just beautiful to hear him speak to God and bless his wife and children. I loved that we got to hear the testimonies of how my parents-in-law met God and met each other. As they spoke, and as we spent time together as a family, I felt the Holy Spirit weave a deeper bond of love amongst us – such different personalities, such different backgrounds, such different cultures even, but here we were – joined together not only by the a marriage, but also by the Spirit of God, and by His love.
Later in the week there was a power outage, so I picked up my sister from our family home and bought her over to our home to hang out. We had lots of fun but my favourite part was how we spontaneously made ourselves into a little ensemble, worshipped together, then danced together as we praised the Lord! My parents, though away in the US, were in contact via phone and we all prayed for one another. Such great love – love for God, and love for each other.
“No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.” – [3 John 4:12]
- TREASURE IN THE WORKPLACE
I have just started in the paediatric emergency department and I am loving it. I have been happy to stay back and do overtime, I have been happy to see the extra patient, or any patient, and my patients can tell that I love my job! Working with the women and children this year has been amazing, and I feel I have grown in the way I bring God into my workplace. I treasure the corridor prayer time, and the opportunities to share the message of the Christ, but most of all, I treasure the love of the God in the hospital – the love He shows me He has for the sick, the tired, the working, and the hurting. That is what makes me love my job. That is what make me work hard, and study. It is the love of Christ that motivates me, the love He has for people, His desire that all would be healed and live in the fullness of life that He has purposed for us.
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God …” – [Isaiah 61:1-2]
- TREASURE IN THE CHURCH
We love our church. We love how everyone serves, honours and loves another, and we treasure the opportunities we have to receive this love, and to bless others. We love how God knows where everyone is at, and blesses people even in ways we do not expect – a random verse which speaks directly to someone’s heart, a prayer of faith, a single step of obedience. I love hearing people testify of how God encourages and strengthens them. I love how we can turn to God in every circumstance, knowing He is always faithful. I love how I can just serve joyfully, how I can walk with people and how I can witness miracles. I might prepare a study, I might make some cards, I might speak a few words or send a text, but it is God whose Spirit works through me to will and do according to His good pleasure.
“We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of power may be of God and not of us.” – [2 Corinthians 4:7]
- MY LIFE’S TREASURE
My life’s treasure is found in Christ. Through the last eight days, my greatest treasure has been in experiencing even more, how much my Lord Jesus loves me. Because of His abundant love, I have had a greater love for my family, my job, my church and just generally, for the world! I care about things because God cares. I am excited about things because God is excited. I love people because God loves them. I want to see God’s kingdom come, and I want to see the world walk in His ways. I want to understand the way He thinks, the way He feels about the many social issues the world debates. I want to experience and to live out more the love He has for the world. I want His gentleness, but His boldness, His wisdom and His words. My treasure is in Christ’s love – it is the knowledge of His nature, and the understanding of His ways. My heart belongs to Jesus and He is my treasure, my reward.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in a steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in a steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – [Matthew 6:19-21]
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