Sleeping Beauty

We all have different spiritual gifts.

We have one team member that loves to sleep and can sleep anytime,


anywhere,


even with bright sun shining on her face.


Of course, you miss things like this sunrise.


Imagine my surprise when half way through our 8 hour flight from Sao Paulo to Miami, she and I were the only two team members awake. Imagine my further surprise when she said "Joe, I wrote a blog entry."

Here it is:

As I'm leaving Paraguay, I leave with a new vision, a new understanding. I've been playing the words of 1 John 4 in my mind.

V. 7 "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."

V. 11-12 "Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."

I am learning that it's okay, it's encouraged to receive love, because God is love. When I receive love from someone, I am actually accepting them as meeting a need I have, as they are empowered by God.

I have always prided myself on being independent. I am learning that is more of a rejection of the love God wants to offer through others.

These weeks, I have needed people as never before. I have needed people's prayers. I have needed help understanding language. I have needed people to keep me from getting lost in the markets. I have needed provision of communication with people at home. I have needed instruction on how to work. I have needed people to encourage me, comfort me, feed me, laugh with me, and cry with me. I have needed much.

All of these needs were met by our host missionaries, teammates, friends, Paraguayans and family. Each of you has stepped up to use the gifts God has given you to show His love.

And just as I have this deep need for, in essence, love, so do many in this world. And just as others had gifts to show me God's love by meeting my needs; so too, have I the ability to love people in the world and in God's love and grace, meet their needs.

So I guess, what I am challenging myself to do daily, every moment really, is to ask God how do I love people better and can you help me to allow myself to need others and be loved by You, Father God, in their actions. Mt final thought will be directed to you dearest, how will you love this world of needy people?

Dominique