Love is the Way, the Truth, the Life

Every day this week, while driving in my car, the song, Until the Whole World Hears (Casting Crowns), has come on the radio. Every time. Just like last spring, when What Do I Know of Holy (Addison Road) came on every time I was driving. And in that case, God was definitely moving. So I'm thinking there's gotta be a reason for the current situation.

Lord, I want to feel Your heart
and see the world through Your eyes
I want to be Your hands and feet
I want to live a life that leads ...

I pray that they will see more of You and less of me
Lord, I want my life to be the song You sing ...

And as the day draws near
we'll sing until the whole world hears

There have been some other songs filtering in this week, as well. Often, while getting ready for work, I put my ipod on shuffle. I like to do that just to see what God will decide to play. Here's what I got on Monday: Beloved (Tenth Avenue North). I had never heard this song before, but the timing was impeccable.

Love of my life
Look deep in my eyes
There you will find what you need
Give Me your life

This one has also been on the radio and stuck in my head a lot this week: Love Never Fails (Brandon Heath). It goes well with what I have been reading and thinking about lately. Love, after all, matters the most ... Love never fails you ... Love always hopes ... Love still believes when you don't. Love is the Way, the Truth, the Life.

Today, Brittany, Katie, and I did department devos at work. The topic? Compassion - based on the words Bob Pierce prayed before he started World Vision: "Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God." Coincidentally - or not so, as the case may be - I was singing Hosanna last week. Open up my eyes to the things unseen. Show me how to love like You have loved me ... Break my heart for what breaks Yours. Everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause. Something prompted me to ask my musician friend in Croatia if he knew where I could get a copy of the song in Croatian. He sent me the song and a video on YouTube of his band playing it in Croatian. Then we sang Hosanna at church on Sunday. In my life, I have become keenly aware that repeated themes have meaning. As I started taking note of the repetition, I started thinking about how I first became aware of the song. The first time I heard Hosanna was on the Hillsong album that I got after visiting Hillsong London. Which I only did because I was visiting friends in London who I met at ROM in Croatia the first year I went. And these were the same friends who prayed for me at the airport when I was on my way from Cape Town to Seattle because my mom was dying. At one point, I realized that the singer was Brooke Fraser, whose music has hugely impacted me. Her song, Albertine, in particular, God used to speak to me about my experiences in countries around the world - particularly in Eastern Europe. Now that I have seen, I am responsible. Faith without deeds is dead. ... I will tell the world, I will tell them where I've been. And Abertine was the song played during department devos my first week at World Vision. I knew it was not a coincidence. It was God's way of making sure I knew He was paying attention and that He was being intentional. So, back to Hosanna: break my heart for what breaks Yours...

Last week, a few of us from the Correspondence Team were asked to speak for department devos today, on the topic of Compassion. Brittany shared about her experience of the procession to her husband's uncle's funeral (Kent Mundell, the Pierce County sheriff's deputy who was shot and killed while on duty in December), and how seeing the tears of people who didn't even know Kent made her want to show that kind of compassion to others. I shared about how my experience of losing my mom has made me more compassionate toward others who have experienced suffering, and how this showed me that God works through difficult experiences to transform lives. Katie shared about the compassion she learned by walking with her friend through the death of her boyfriend from cancer. Stories like these always remind me of Bring the Rain (MercyMe)

I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You?
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

Jesus never promised us that following Him would be easy. But I believe the cost is worth it. "'Course he isn't safe. But he's good." - Mr. Beaver in The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe (C.S. Lewis). Love is the Way, the Truth, the Life.

And there is more to the story. My story. The context in which all of this is taking place: my recent experience at Urbana, and the many conversations and prayers that have ensued, as well as some other pivotal meetings coming up.

I can't help but wonder what God is doing in all of this. I KNOW He is doing something. He is orchestrating. He is shaking the puzzle pieces out of the box and beginning to put them in place. He is reminding me of where I have been and preparing me for where I am to go. I have a feeling I will be looking back at this point in time in a year and I will be amazed to see how things have fallen into place...