Listen

Saturday, April 16, 2011

As some of you may already know, I wear hearing aids. I almost got them in kindergarten, but the technology was not so impressive back in 1995. However, in December 2004 I finally got hearing aids and have lived everyday with them since. My hearing loss is hereditary, permanent, and likely to worsen over time. Hearing aids are a huge help, but there is only so much they can do. I will never hear clearly here on earth.

But do you know what is beyond beautiful? Though my physical hearing will always fail me, God never ceases from fine-tuning my spiritual hearing on a journey toward perfection. No, I will never be perfect, but I pray the Lord fashions me to look more and more like His precious and holy Son each day, and His standards are nothing short of perfection.

I do apologize for how much time has passed since I last wrote online about what the Lord is doing in my life, but I know God had great purpose in me waiting until today to share with you. The Spirit has constantly been renewing and refining my perspective since I last wrote. I wish I could share with you every truth He has opened my eyes and ears to see and understand in that time, but this is not the outlet in which to do so.

One theme the Lord has had for me over this last month or so has been hearing. God daily brings me back to the powerful truth that He listens to the prayers and the cries of my heart. But do you know what is perhaps even more awe-inspiring than that? He teaches me to listen to His voice too! God is rapidly bringing healing to my soul as He lavishes clarity upon me so I might discern His voice in the midst of a world of chaos.

My Teacher has spoken oceans of truth and gardens of visions to me in this season of life in Africa. I do not believe He is speaking to me any more than He always has, but I do believe He is enabling me to hear Him better with each day so I might truly listen to His callings and commands, and faithfully obey them.

One clear calling He laid on my heart at the end of February was to pursue the taste of a vision I believe He has to use the teenagers of the McKinney area to radically impact the community with the love of Christ this summer and beyond. The vision was clear, and the passion was strong, but the obstacles towered over me as I sought to move forward.

But friends, may I testify about the mighty work of our God this morning? Just as the Lord Almighty has demonstrated in my life time and time before, He is destroying those obstacles with His strong right arm in one swift movement! For if God is for me, who shall be against me? God continues to overwhelm me with awe as I experience Him reign over all creation in order for His good and perfect will to be done.

Though much has been done, there is still much to do. However, I feel confident in sharing with you all the fact that God is bringing me home from Africa early in my eyes, but right on time in His. I will fly home the evening of Friday, May 13 and will arrive in Dallas on Saturday afternoon. Originally I was not to return to Texas until June 28, but God’s plans always trump my intentions. He is bringing me back in time to start to lay the groundwork for the vision He has given me, and I believe He has given others, for this summer.

God had me dedicate the last two summers to serving the teenagers of two different youth groups in the McKinney area, and I believe He is calling me to serve the teenagers of the McKinney community once again. Though both youth groups are incredibly strong and overflowing with phenomenal teenagers, I discovered they both share the same weakness: service. Though both have a deep passion to serve, they are limited in scope as to what local service outreaches they can do simply because of their large size. Many local service opportunities cannot accommodate 60 plus teenagers at one time. Oftentimes these large groups of teenagers then have to travel all the way to Dallas to sort through clothes in a warehouse or food in a pantry. While these are important forms of service, God has broken me over the fact that unless teenagers can afford to serve overseas on a mission trip during their youth group experience, they are never able to see the face of service.


God is not calling me home in May to simply go out into the community and do a service project on a weekly basis with some buddies. Though that may be beneficial for a short time, in the grand scheme of things, it is temporary and lacks impact. No my friends, God is calling me to something greater, which requires me to surrender to serve Him with all I am – even though it is bound to be difficult.

My original goal was to have at least one local service outreach opportunity lined up for each weekday of the summer, and to have one or two carloads of various teens from the youth groups and outside the churches serve alongside me, and some other adult leaders God burdens the hearts of, each day. It would not be the same teenagers serving in the same way each day, but each day the community would experience teenagers truly being Christ’s hands and feet as they love as Christ first loved us.

Though God’s plans are quickly surpassing my intentions once again, my desire for teenagers to have the opportunity to not only discover and utilize their spiritual gifts, but also to experience practical forms of service that can be easily applied to their everyday lives, still remains.

I believe the Lord has been planning a movement that starts with the young people of north Texas since before time began, and although we have seen much growth and activity amongst the secondary students of the McKinney community already, I believe we will really see a catalyst amongst them this summer as they truly serve as ambassadors of Jesus Christ.

We were not called to hide behind church walls and denominations; rather, we have been called to stand firm in the armor of God as we daily fight for faith in every aspect of our lives. God has already gotten the ball rolling for this summer, and I do not think it is going to stop. It is like a tumbleweed that continues to get blown across the surface of the globe. Except, this tumbleweed will yield eternal ramifications as it cultivates a radical and passionate love for our Savior amongst all the peoples of the world, making the fields ripe for harvest.

Please join me in prayer over the Lord’s will for this summer. Pray He will continue to burden the hearts of those He wants involved. I ask that you, in the very least, partner with me in continued prayer over the summer, but if you feel the Lord leading you to get involved in a more practical and hands-on manner, do not hesitate to let me know! Pray God will provide opportunities to build capacity in the lives of those in need in the community and in the lives of teenagers. Pray God will open the eyes of the souls He has ordained to serve and be served this summer and beyond; pray He will compel them to stand up, speak out, and reach out in faith, hope, and love. Overall, pray GOD alone will be honored and glorified through what begins this summer, and what I believe will continue indefinitely.

We exist solely for the honor of the Lord’s name. In every prayer, praise, pain, and punishment – we were made to bring glory to the name of the Most High King: Jesus Christ.

Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing His work. You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.” –John 4:34-38

Grateful for the unending grace of Christ Jesus that forever saves us from this dark world and from ourselves,

Meghan