I've attempted this blogging thing once before and I must say that I failed pretty miserably. I had intended on keeping everyone back in America up on all of my African adventures, but I did not update once while I was in Tanzania. So here I am, attempting once again to create a blog. I was attempting to come up with a name for my blog and was reading in Isaiah 58 for inspiration. I really feel as though my life passage is Isaiah 58: 6-11:
"Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.'If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday. And the LORD will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
When we were in Tanzania, Andy Hart shared these verses with us. They struck me then and they strike me each time I read them. It is our responsibility and our role to bring freedom for the oppressed, to share food with the hungry, to provide shelter for the homeless. This isn't just one of those callings that only some are urged to follow. This is a call for each of us. It breaks my heart when people say, "Well, that's just not for me" or "That's someone else's job." We might be the only hope that some people have. How dare we try to pass off that responsibility, that opportunity, that blessing to someone else. And it truly is a blessing. I desire to be one that revives hope in the lives of those who experience only despair. I desperately want to bring joy to the lives of those who live in fear. I want to be in the work of reviving hope for those that need it most.
