Monday, April 22, 2019

40 Days of Seeing...

teachers on their knees following the example of Christ, washing their students' feet. bringing the Word to a chapel full of people (spanning multiple generations) for Easter chapel. our second born being baptized. the jarring sound of nails hammered into wood. friends gathered around our table breaking bread and drinking the cup. it was a powerful, humbling day full of glimpses of Him everywhere I turned. it made me long to see Him more often in my daily life. I want it to be my way of life- my new normal. seeing Jesus everywhere I go, like Mother Theresa did: "I see Jesus in every human being, I say to myself, this is hungry Jesus, I must feed him. This is sick Jesus. This one has leprosy or gangrene; I must wash him and tend to him. I serve because I love Jesus.


in the 40 days after His resurrection Jesus appeared to His disciples in random places and unexpected moments. they didn't always recognize Him at first. but with practice I think they started seeing Him everywhere. I can't imagine how they must have felt to hear Him explain the story of Scripture to them or to fish with them again or to enjoy a meal together once more. their hearts must have been so full of love, relief and hope. He was filling up their hearts with love, rebuilding their faith, and teaching them everything they needed to know for when He returned to the Father. and I believe He comes to us still in kindness and love, in power, holiness and knowledge giving us everything we need for life and godliness. sometimes He meets us in our prayer closets, and other times He refreshes our hearts through a friend.

so I want to look for Him in these 40 days between resurrection and ascension. I want to see Him in the face of my mischievous three year old and in the old man walking down the road. I want to serve Him as I make breakfast for my kids and meet with secondary girls before school. I want to love them like I love Him. "For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in...Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me." -Matthew 25:35, 40

 I'd love for you to join me in taking this 40 day challenge: 40 days of seeing Jesus in every face. but I guarantee it won't be easy. I'm on Day 1... and my girls already spilled paint all over my lace table cloth and I did NOT react the way I hope I would react towards Jesus. I am much more aware already and that is half the battle.

as we cultivate our love relationship with Jesus in these days I pray that this small challenge would draw you closer to Him. that you would enjoy life together with Him. serve Him well. love Him extravagantly. AND allow Him to love you back. are you in? leave a comment, share this post, comment on FB and let us know!

A prayer from Mother Theresa and used by her Sisters of Charity in their work: " Dearest Lord, may I see you today and every day in the person of your sick, and, whilst nursing them, minister unto you. Though you hide yourself behind the unattractive disguise of the irritable, the exacting, the unreasonable, may I still recognize you, and say: “Jesus, my patient, how sweet it is to serve you.” Lord, give me this seeing faith, then my work will never be monotonous. I will ever find joy in humoring the fancies and gratifying the wishes of all poor sufferers. O beloved sick, how doubly dear you are to me, when you personify Christ; and what a privilege is mine to be allowed to tend you. Sweetest Lord, make me appreciative of the dignity of my high vocation, and its many responsibilities. Never permit me to disgrace it by giving way to coldness, unkindness, or impatience. And O God, while you are Jesus, my patient, deign also to be to me a patient Jesus, bearing with my faults, looking only to my intention, which is to love and serve you in the person of each of your sick. Lord, increase my faith, bless my efforts and work, now and forevermore. Amen."

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