Lisa Thompson's story - week 3

“Let us love not in speech, but in truth and action” (I John 3:16-18)
 
About 2.5 years ago I was considering a trip to Kenya to visit the school, staff and students at Flying Kites. After much internal debate, I’d decided not to go. I’m sure you’ll resonate with my reasons: I had two teenagers with lots of needs, a demanding career, a close friend battling an aggressive cancer, and the list goes on. The timing just didn’t feel right.
 
A life-long friend asked me why I decided not to go and I explained my reasons. She wasn’t buying it. She said, “I know you and you’ll make time for anything in your life that you want to do. Tell me why you’re REALLY not going.”
 
That’s when it hit me: I wasn’t too busy…I was afraid. I was afraid of the distance. I was afraid to be that far from my family. I was afraid for my personal safety. I was afraid to see the poverty first hand. I always wanted to be the type of person who did Mission Trips regularly and comfortably but I couldn’t reconcile my desire with my fears. I waited for a sign from God.
 
Several weeks later I received that answer when someone recommended I read The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns. In the book, Stearns reminds us that God tells us directly and repeatedly throughout the Bible that while it’s critical we pray, it’s not enough. While it’s critical we share the story of the Bible, it’s necessary but not sufficient. He calls us to be a people who don’t just talk to and about Him but to be a people who act on His behalf. Signs don’t get much more direct than that…so off to Kenya I went.
 
The details of what I did or did not achieved aren’t important right now. What’s important was the act. It was done out of love so it goes without saying that lives were transformed. Where are the areas in your life that God is inviting you to act? 
 
“If you act out of love, whatever you do is both perfect and right…The only thing we need to do is figure out what we really love.” - Geoff Herbac