The Father’s Love Letter
I just returned back from another amazing trip to Lesotho Africa. One of the the great blessings I got to experience was leading a retreat for Mountain Kingdom Hope students. These are high school students who are orphans and a couple times a year they are brought together from all different schools to worship, study God’s Word, and experience being a family.
We have found out from our previous retreats that the students did not own Bibles. So my sister Cindy contacted a friend who donated a bible for each student. It was overwhelming to watch the students reaction as we handed a Bible to each of them. Huge smiles covered their beautiful faces and they could not restrain themselves from opening it up and reading God’s love letter in their own language.
Throughout the retreat their Bibles did not leave their hands as they treasured it as if it was their most precious possession. I can’t tell you what that picture did to my heart and how it challenged me anew to hold the Father’s Word of love to me as the greatest of gifts.
As I returned from my trip and opened up the Bible in my morning devotions I asked the Father to give me that same passion and excitement for His living love letter as I experienced through these incredible students in Africa. May that be your prayer as well.
Tim you faithfully have reminded these precious Lesotho African students whom have lost both their mom and dad to death, the truth of belonging! You have told them many times how they are not orphans but “Children of the King”! These kids amaze me and inspire me too Tim! Their faith in hard times, their thankfulness to God for the little things of life even in their great sorrow, and than their pure delight and joy of holding the Word of our Lord in their hands for the first time! The beautiful, vulnerable and grateful kids of Lesotho Africa reminded me of the miracle of Emmanuel! God is among us in the most surprising and life changing ways.
Tim, may the healing truth of “Belonging” that you have shared over the years in various ways through retreats, prisons, and now in your new released book, continue to bring avenues of surprise and goodness! Thanks for being light to the truth that we are not alone, Emmanuel ~ God is with us!
Oh Lord as we draw close to Christmas continue to birth in us hearts willing to expand beyond our comfort zones! May our eyes be wide open and our hearts ready to receive the Word made Flesh among us, may we never take for granted Your Living Word and all the graces you give us to sustain us in our journeys of life! May my brother’s “Yes” to follow You to unknown places bring to him and his family many wonderful life giving encounters! Amen!