Realignment

I love running.  It is incredibly therapeutic and cleansing for me as I run to worship music and begin to release the burdens of the day to the Lord.  But as some of you may know, I herniated a disc almost 2 years ago and underwent painful recovery as my back began to heal.  If you've ever had back issues, I feel your pain!  It took several chiropractic appointments of realignment and therapy before I was able to run again.

 A few years back I heard a sermon on "realigning" our lives with the Lord.  It was a message I've never forgotten.  Just as our bodies need to be realigned to good health, so do our hearts, minds, and souls.

The past few weeks, I had been feeling all out of sorts spiritually.  I don't know if was spiritual warfare, my own selfishness, apathy, or what.  I just knew I didn't like it.  God has purposefully called me here and I don't want to miss a word He has for me on account of my own selfishness and I don't want to be a road block in His work.

With the daily routine of homeschooling, it is so easy to get caught up in the monotony of life even here.   I've had my frustrating days, my sad days, and my "I need 30 minutes to collect myself" days. Everything in me knew I needed realignment.   I don't want to waste my days spiritually floating.  I've just been praying that the Lord breathe a fresh wind over me, fill me with His life-giving water, and realign my heart with His.  

Our God is good.  Need I say more?

Yesterday, I finally got the chance to go back into Redemption Village to visit with the kids and help with the feeding program.  God heard my prayers and snapped my spirit into place.  I'll need multiple follow ups with the Lord as He continues to realign my heart with His, but I was so grateful for this appointment.  

"Un foto!"

Barb with Marie Flor

Signing in for the feeding program

So many children enjoy having their pictures taken

Waiting patiently

 

Mmmmmm!

It is so easy to get sucked into our own worlds, our own "needs," our own selfishness that we forget to thank the Lord for the many blessings we do have and ask Him to open our eyes to the world around us.  As we were in the village, my heart just melted.  These kids have so little to eat yet they were sharing their bowls with kids who didn't have any.  And more than that, I just know the kids need love and attention.  We enter the village and we're overtaken by a sea of children... literally, not one of my fingers was free as a different child held on as we proceeded to the feeding program. 

How dare I fall into self-pity and be tangled in daily problems and frustrations.  My problems have no weight in this world.  Besides, God is strong enough to take it all on.  

Talk about realignment.  I'm strapping on those running shoes...  

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."   Hebrews 12:1

  

Narnia

The favorite part of the girls' day is right after lunch.  And it's not because we're done with school.  Like clockwork... 


"Miss Lauren, are we going to read The Chronicles of Narnia today!?"


Joy to my ears.


The two youngest girls have fallen in love with this story.  Yesterday, we went up to the roof and read the final chapters of The Magician's Nephew.  I was only going to read two chapters, but as we approached the end of chapter 13, the girls implored me to continue.


"Pleeeeeeeeaaasee!!!" Of course, I gave in.  We spent nearly two hours on the roof... lost in the world of Narnia. 

One of the most beautiful parts of this literary journey has been God's perfect timing.  As we read about the founding of Narnia, we just so happened to be discussing the foundation of the earth in Genesis.  

"In the darkness something was happening at last.  A voice had begun to sing.  It was very far away and Digory found it hard to decide from what direction it was coming.  Sometimes it seemed to come from all directions at once.  Sometimes he almost thought it was coming out of the earth beneath them.  Its lower notes were deep enough to be the voice of the earth herself.  There were no words.  It was hardly a tune.  But it was beyond comparison, the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.  It was so beautiful he could hardly bear it."    - C.S. Lewis

Seeing the girls light up with excitement when they made the connection between Narnia and God's Creation was a sight to see.

Personally, I have only read the first two books in the series, but the Lord has already spoken to me through the words and gentle character of Aslan.  I have taught that Jesus is our Savior and dearest Friend, but the Lord revealed to me how far my heart can be from believing this at times.  It had been such a subtle lie, one of which I wasn't even fully aware. 


Yet God has continued to melt away fears of disappointment in approaching Him through the beautiful writing of C.S. Lewis.

Naturally, I had to share this Truth and series with the missionary kids I'd be teaching.  His love is so deep that our hearts can only begin to fathom its strength.

And I have a feeling the best is yet to come....

"They say Aslan is on the move..."