First Steps

Andre is walking! And it is a sweet, sweet thing to be present at such a precious time as this, a child taking his first steps. He is very wobbly, and looks a little bit like a drunken old man, but oh he is so cute. If we set him up against a wall and call for him to come to us across the corridor he always smiles, knowing his adorable newly acquired ability, and laughs as he ventures a few unsteady steps from the wall and into the loving hands of the one waiting to catch him. You can see the pure joy and delight in Andre’s face as he continues to take his first steps right into this exciting new phase of his life. And it’s fun, for him and for us, to see him trusting himself more and more to walk, and us more and more to catch him when he doesn’t. We tell him we are there- behind him, in front of him, on either side- and he hears us, but I don’t think he really believes us until he is caught in our arms, one stumbling step after another. Like I said, it’s a tender thing- and the Lord is so kind to let me be a part of it. He reminds me a lot of myself, Andre, as he stumbles along as best he can, eager to walk but not having a clue what his feet are doing- just walking straight towards the one thing he knows. Sometimes I am so worried about my “ministry”, and so focused on what I need to be doing or improving in, that I realize I am just stumbling over what the Lord has thoughtfully placed in front of me everyday. I realize that I have trapped myself in my own definition of what I think ministry should look like. And I am stuck inside the same box I have squeezed ministry into- mistakenly thinking that ministry is what I do, and not who I am. If Jesus made us all in the image of himself (which is unquestionably true- see Genesis 1:27), and He lives in believers (also true- see Colossians 1:27), and ministry in its purest form is simply showing the world who Jesus is and what His vast and immeasurable love looks like, then ministry- put simply- is living into who you are; living into the person the Lord created you to be. Ministry isn’t what you do- it’s who you are. Ministry comes from understanding Colossians 1:27, that Christ is in you, the hope of glory! And I have come to see that simply understanding and therefore living into that inconceivable truth allows Christ in you to shine forth, letting your light shine before all men, acknowledging the Lord in all your ways, and letting Him make straight the paths before you, in front of your feet, one stumbling step at a time. I try so hard to be constantly “doing” ministry while I am here, and if there is ever a slow hour, or day, or even week, I struggle incessantly to find things to make up for lost time as soon as the opportunity arises, as if the Lord has forgotten about me and isn’t already perfectly at work in that very moment. I go helplessly and excitedly ahead, looking for what I could or can be doing, and I stumble. I miss the beauty in each step the Lord has placed on the path before me, when all I need do is take the time to look at my feet, and the one in who’s holy footsteps I am walking, and let them lead me. Because even if your feet don’t know what they are doing, you know your path is straight. I feel like lately all I have been learning and experiencing and in turn telling you about, has been internal, in the form of revelations or teachings or self-growth. And that bothered me, because it didn’t fit my definition of ministry, of what I was limited God’s anointing on my life to. Now I take joy in simply learning and walking, mindfully following the path that has been set before me, because my ministry is my life- in my most mundane of circumstances, to my most thrilling adventures. And THAT is huge.

Ministry is your life; it’s who you are!

I pray that we can realize the reality of that, of Colossians 1:27, Christ living IN you, the HOPE of GLORY. I pray for growth from Jesus simply being a moral compass, to not only being a holy Father and perfect Savior, but the truest Lord of your life, and your very closest companion. And I pray for trust, as He wants to lead our wobbly steps thoughtfully on the path He has laid before us, beckoning us towards him through the still and the storm, step by step just like a child; and it is a sweet, sweet thing.