Learning to be like Jesus....a forever process

Well, all the kids are quietly tucked in....Daddy is out of town and I am looking through pics from my recent trip to Addis. So many images run through my mind. Pictures don't always do justice to a trip and I can say that my life has been forever changed. I can't help but think of a few images that have been burned into my heart forever.

The beggar with no hand telling us how hungry he was...

The young mothers with crying babies asking us for anything to help them feed their children...

The thatch roofed home, the family sitting on benches under a big ole tree, villagers coming over the hills to catch a glimpse of white people....just driving to that beautiful place through fields....I will never forget.

Little children herding livestock (daydreaming while the cows walked the wrong way)

The giant chalkboard nailed to a tree in the middle of a field with I'll bet 100 children and one teacher who was teaching them the English alphabet. Who knows how far they walked to get there.

Toddlers running along the sides of the road half dressed, no shoes....

Grown men, women, and children making their homes on a blanket in the median of a busy street...

The illness, the poverty,

The thousands who may never hear the name of Christ.....

It was so overwhelming. More so than I expected. I know that while I was there I wasn't the hands and feet of Christ at all times. I was so overwhelmed with the crushing poverty I was seeing everywhere that I had a hard time breathing. Thoughts would rush through my mind, "How did I end up here? What was our son's life like just four short months ago....was he one of the kids running next to the street? did he have shoes? did he have enough to eat? In the midst of all that he has been through, how is he so beautifully happy? God what are you wanting to teach me?"

Lord Jesus, I long to be your hands and feet. For the first time in my life, I caught a very miniscule glimpse of what you might have felt as you came to this earth. Don't let me forget. Make me always mindful of the lessons You taught me while I was in Addis. When I look in J's precious face, make me reminded of Your great love for me and prompt me to be Your hands and feet for as long as I have breath. ~~~

I have but ONE LIFE....may it glorify Christ!