let my life speak...

After class yesterday, I was on my way back to work at the other end of the school... Walking through the hall, I passed a girl I work with in the Learning Center. We stopped to talk for just a minute. She was on her way to class, and I knew she had a quiz in that class, so as we went on our way, I turned back to her and said something about hoping her quiz went well. And then she just looked at me, and she said, "You always look so happy!"... with a look on her face that was almost incredulous, like "how on earth do you do that?"

That is one of the biggest compliments she could have given me. I want my life to show that I am happy. It is not just happiness though... it is joy. I love that she has seen that joy in my life. She sees me smile all the time, and she sees that I've always got something good to say about whatever's going on. We didn't have time to get into why I have joy... she had to get to class and I had to get to work. But... I am praying for an opportunity to have that conversation with her.

"all the colors of the rainbow
all the voices of the wind
every dream that reaches out
that reaches out to find where love begins
every word of every story
every star in every sky
every corner of creation lives to testify

for as long as i shall live
i will testify to love
i'll be a witness in the silences
when words are not enough
with every breath i take
i will give thanks to God above
for as long as i shall live
i will testify to love

from the mountains to the valleys
from the rivers to the sea
every hand that reaches out
every hand that reaches out to offer peace
every simple act of mercy
every step to kingdom come
all the hope in every heart will
speak what love has done..."

~ "testify to love"... avalon

If we pay attention to it, all of creation testifies to God's greatness and Love. Everything good points to Him, whether or not we connect the dots. I want my life to speak of how great our God is. Just like the mountains and the rivers, acts of mercy, the stars in the sky, and the colors of the rainbow... just like they testify to God's Love, I want my life to testify. I am choosing to live so as to testify to His goodness and grace and mercy.

It is no secret where I work that I am a Christian, and that I go to church. There are a couple of other believers that I work with, which is really encouraging to me. At the same time though, I am glad that I do not work with only Christians, because if I did... I have this feeling that I would get into a sort of rut in my walk with God. Living what I say I believe would still be important, but it would be different in that I would not have people look at me and say "You always look so happy!" with the same look on their face that this girl had yesterday. Maybe here and there, but not like I have the opportunity right now. My mom has said several times that she wishes I were attending a Christian school. But you know what? ~ I really, really believe that I am exactly where God wants me for the time being. He wants me in class and at work with unbelievers surrounding me. For right now, this is my mission field from God. He has blessed me so much. I need to pass along the blessings He's given me. I need to be in school right where I am, sharing a smile and a kind word, encouraging others, and sharing God's great Love.

I thank God for placing me here. When I started college two years ago, I honestly never expected to get to the point where I would walk down the hall and know so many of the people I see on my way to wherever it is I am going. I constantly see people in the halls who I know from class (both current or previous classes), people I work with, people I tutor, people I just know from seeing them all the time, etc. There is one lady who comes a couple of times each month and recruits volunteers for the "Big Brother/Big Sister" organization that goes to public schools and mentors the kids there... I have gotten to know her and now every time I see her, I stop and say hi and ask how her day's going... I love to see her smile. :) The other day she told me I was a bright spot in her day or something along those lines. If I can brighten someone's day or make a difference in their life... then I want to do it. I want to show them Jesus' Love... I might be the only Jesus they ever meet. So I need to make the most of the opportunities I am given.