Just a little gem from July 6th!
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Friday, September 7, 2012
Surrender
I know I have not posted in a long, long time. And I know that I am not "over the pond" anymore and am in the not-quite-as-exciting Fredericksburg. But I do want to continue to blog occasionally and to share the things I'm learning and the adventures Jesus takes me on. Because if I learned anything in London, it was that Jesus has purpose for me. And that purpose isn't just when I'm thousands of miles away, walking up boldly to university students and initiating conversations with the hope of sharing the Gospel. But now I am back in the routine...taking classes, attending volleyball practice for 3-4 hours a day, and doing Young Life. And the Lord wants my heart here. He doesn't just want me to lean on Him and look to Him when I'm doing designated "ministry." My life is a thank you offering for what He did on the cross.
This idea of surrender has been a theme throughout my summer. Surrendering my pride and desire for control are daily things. I came across this passage while reading a book this summer and I feel like it eloquently explains my prayer and desire for my senior year.
"Can we give up all for the love of God? When the surrender of ourselves seems too much to ask, it is first of all because our thoughts about God Himself are paltry. We have not really seen Him, we have hardly tested Him at all and learned how good He is. In our blindness we approach Him with suspicious reserve. We ask how much of our fun He intends to spoil, how much He will demand from us, how high is the price we must pay before He is placated. If we had the least notion of His lovingkindness and tender mercy, His fatherly care for His poor children, His generosity, His beautiful plans for us; if we knew how patiently He waits for our turning to Him, how gently He means to lead us to green pastures and still waters, how carefully He is preparing a place for us, how ceaselessly He is ordering and ordaining and engineering His Master Plan for our good--if we had any inkling of all this, could we be reluctant to let go of our smashed dandelions or whatever we clutch so fiercely in our sweaty little hands?"
--Elisabeth Elliot, The Path of Loneliness
This idea of surrender has been a theme throughout my summer. Surrendering my pride and desire for control are daily things. I came across this passage while reading a book this summer and I feel like it eloquently explains my prayer and desire for my senior year.
"Can we give up all for the love of God? When the surrender of ourselves seems too much to ask, it is first of all because our thoughts about God Himself are paltry. We have not really seen Him, we have hardly tested Him at all and learned how good He is. In our blindness we approach Him with suspicious reserve. We ask how much of our fun He intends to spoil, how much He will demand from us, how high is the price we must pay before He is placated. If we had the least notion of His lovingkindness and tender mercy, His fatherly care for His poor children, His generosity, His beautiful plans for us; if we knew how patiently He waits for our turning to Him, how gently He means to lead us to green pastures and still waters, how carefully He is preparing a place for us, how ceaselessly He is ordering and ordaining and engineering His Master Plan for our good--if we had any inkling of all this, could we be reluctant to let go of our smashed dandelions or whatever we clutch so fiercely in our sweaty little hands?"
--Elisabeth Elliot, The Path of Loneliness
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