getting over me

On our ride home from my sister's yesterday, Cristina (my oldest daughter) was telling me that one reason she likes going on mission trips is because they help her get over herself. I completely understood what she was talking about. It seems too easy in the States, to get caught up in our own little worlds. We fret, we worry, we obsess about things that have little importance in the big scheme of things. Like Narcissus, we fall in love with ourselves and miss all that's going on around us. (In the Greek myth, Narcissus ended up starving to death, since he couldn't bear to leave the beauty of his own reflection in the pool.) And, yes, we end up the same way, spiritually----trying to sate ourselves, but dying of thirst for something that truly satisfies.

In contrast, on a mission/work trip, we know that we're in this new place for someone other than ourselves. Without mirrors or magazines around to remind us what we're supposed to be attaining, we forget about ourselves, roll up our sleeves and get to work. And it is SO satisfying and rewarding.

I've been reminded lately that I don't need to leave the country to gain perspective on what really matters. It comes from my time with God. I hear it in song lyrics, encouragement from a friend, and, most importantly, in prayers and the Word. When I get a glimpse of the enormity, beauty, and sovereignty of God, everything else fades into the background.

Here are a couple of verses that have stood out to me lately, that I hope encourage you as well:

Psalm 16:11 "You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence, and the pleasure of living with you forever."

Malachi 4:2 "But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture."

Grounded by God's constant presence, I can be free to leap with joy like a calf let out to pasture. (Another version says "leaping with joy like well-fed calves." :)

I can just picture a little calf leaping around on a grassy hillside, not a care in the world. I want to be like that, don't you? So satisfied by the joy of God's presence, I'm no longer bound up by worries, self-absorption or fear. I'm released to play, serve, and just...be.

There's a lot to be thankful for, in the special season of Thanksgiving, but I think I'm most thankful for the One who loved me and saved me---the One who keeps saving me (even from myself).