My diaphragm contracts and expands.
Lungs inflate, oxygen fills.
& my first conscious breath is taken, awake.
Dirt beneath bare feet, footsteps.
My feet have stood on the soil of 16 countries.
and none quite like home, south Georgia beautiful.
I am thankful for this place.
I look around me and all I see is beauty, green and alive.
Sunlight painted across worn wooden floors, bathing.
My thoughts and memories, flowing fragments.
I have coffee with my grandma in the mornings, how I have missed her.
How life seems to slow to a steady lull.
I love the culture of the south. Everyone smiles at me here.
Doors are held open and prayers are as common as the breaths that we take.
Old wooden churches on every corner, heritage.
I watched the stars last night, glowing in the sky.
Infinite expansion, breathtaking.
Being away from home has made coming back so precious.
Every moment, sacred.
God called me last night, beckoned me near.
An invitation, open.
He held out His hand to me and I took it.
I said yes to living a life of worship.
There is a difference between living
and living to worship the one who created life.
I have been asking this question
an echo of the first question we all ask as little children.
Who am I now?
Becoming a mother has changed me and caused me to ask again
who am I?
and I look where we always do, to my Father.
There is so much identity that comes to us from the ones who give us life.
God spoke to me and said that who I am is who I have always been.
One created to be loved by God. That is who I am, who you are.
Beloved.
My diaphragm contracts and expands.
Lungs inflate, oxygen fills.
How is it that we can live the full life?
The beautiful life?
By living it fully in the presence of God, making every moment worship.
Paul wrote it in Colossians and I am beginning to understand now.
He said “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
I like the Message version. It says “Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.”
The full life is full of beauty and tragedy.
It is full of grace and anger.
Of mistakes and celebrations.
Tears and joy.
It is real. It is beautiful. and it is found in God’s presence, in communion with him.
So whether I am taking the gospel out onto the streets of Peru all night
or staying at home with a new baby
whether I am in South America
or south Georgia
whether I am speaking in front of a crowd
or just speaking to one,
I want to do everything, every moment, giving glory to Jesus.
Living the full life, the life of worship that I was created to live.
Life changes.
A person can change from a child into a woman into a mother,
looking into the eyes of a child of her own.
But God stays the same. And we can always be found in Him.
How many times do we let our lives seem grey
we believe the lie that each day is not important
or that each word spoken cannot generate change
we were made for color.
I sit in the center of a radiant day.
Typing this story in my old farm house
the birds are singing for me
the trees are beautiful outside of my window
fragments of light and shadows playing across the branches.
It is all romance.
It is all a whisper of love from my creator.
I was made to worship
because worship is communion with the King.
Take his hand, he is reaching out to you.
Live a life of worship.
The full life, riddled with adventure and beauty.
Let your lungs inflate, fill with oxygen.
Breathe deep, and come awake.
