tumbling after You
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024 on Flickr.
Happy birthday, America! Greetings from across the Atlantic. Sorry I can’t make it to your party this year, dude :(. Wish I were ‘neath the red white and blue right now, but I’m stuck in the blue white and red… Anyways, I hope you have a good one, buddy :).
Taken in the plaza outside Trocadero station overlooking the Eiffel tower. Long exposure with sparkle poi.____________________
God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted [the Gentiles] by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith […] We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.
~ Acts 15:8-9, 11
It’s official - I miss the good ole U S of A. I miss 2 for $1 apple pies at McDonald’s. I miss public drinking water fountains. I miss authentic Tex-Mex, not sombrero-wearing waiters and bad stereotypes. I miss southern hospitality.
But most of all, I miss the people. I miss the ‘rents, the bro, and the bros. I’m surrounded by new friends and faces, yet I feel isolated in my faith. And even with consistency in daily devotionals, I end up gasping for breathe every Sunday. So far, whether it be at the American Church of Paris or Hillsong Paris, God has brought me to tears each time, grateful for the reminder of grace and joyful for a room full of fellow believers.
There have been nuggets of encouragement here and there. Semi-salty conversations with new friends. Stories of God’s faithfulness shared by a Campus Crusade staff intern. A random encounter with the Brazilian man sitting next to me on the train reading Psalms. But I’m still searching for some sort of Christian community, or a brother/sister among the other interns.
This past weekend, the rest of the international interns arrived in Paris. And out of the ones I’ve met so far, I’ve yet to find any “missional Christians.” I knew it’d be stretching to interact with 22 people from all different backgrounds, but I never knew it’d be this difficult/challenging/tiring to show love to every one of them. Can’t I just love the ones that I can identify with - the ones that are like me? I feel distracted by the empty spaces in my heart, once occupied by close brothers and sisters, and unwilling to fill the vacancies with people so different from me. Google+ so painfully reveals the discriminating nature of my limited love - my “Asian + Christian” circle of friends grossly outweighs all other circles in population. I’ve realized just how small my heart is and how much more I have to learn about loving others.
But what a fitting passage to read in my devotionals tonight. Lord, grow my tiny heart to love those different from me. You are not bound by cultures - You created them and You transcend them. You find us and take us in, just as we are.
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não consigo tirar os olhos disso.
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It’s official - I miss...good ole U S of A....miss 2 for $1...
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![photogiraffes:
024 on Flickr.
Happy birthday, America! Greetings from across the Atlantic. Sorry I can’t make it to your party this year, dude :(. Wish I were ‘neath the red white and blue right now, but I’m stuck in the blue white and red… Anyways, I hope you have a good one, buddy :). Taken in the plaza outside Trocadero station overlooking the Eiffel tower. Long exposure with sparkle poi.
____________________
God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted [the Gentiles] by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith […] We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.
~ Acts 15:8-9, 11
It’s official - I miss the good ole U S of A. I miss 2 for $1 apple pies at McDonald’s. I miss public drinking water fountains. I miss authentic Tex-Mex, not sombrero-wearing waiters and bad stereotypes. I miss southern hospitality.
But most of all, I miss the people. I miss the ‘rents, the bro, and the bros. I’m surrounded by new friends and faces, yet I feel isolated in my faith. And even with consistency in daily devotionals, I end up gasping for breathe every Sunday. So far, whether it be at the American Church of Paris or Hillsong Paris, God has brought me to tears each time, grateful for the reminder of grace and joyful for a room full of fellow believers.
There have been nuggets of encouragement here and there. Semi-salty conversations with new friends. Stories of God’s faithfulness shared by a Campus Crusade staff intern. A random encounter with the Brazilian man sitting next to me on the train reading Psalms. But I’m still searching for some sort of Christian community, or a brother/sister among the other interns.
This past weekend, the rest of the international interns arrived in Paris. And out of the ones I’ve met so far, I’ve yet to find any “missional Christians.” I knew it’d be stretching to interact with 22 people from all different backgrounds, but I never knew it’d be this difficult/challenging/tiring to show love to every one of them. Can’t I just love the ones that I can identify with - the ones that are like me? I feel distracted by the empty spaces in my heart, once occupied by close brothers and sisters, and unwilling to fill the vacancies with people so different from me. Google+ so painfully reveals the discriminating nature of my limited love - my “Asian + Christian” circle of friends grossly outweighs all other circles in population. I’ve realized just how small my heart is and how much more I have to learn about loving others.
But what a fitting passage to read in my devotionals tonight. Lord, grow my tiny heart to love those different from me. You are not bound by cultures - You created them and You transcend them. You find us and take us in, just as we are.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lntxwy4bkX1qh1xemo1_500.jpg)
