The Eco-garden was quite informative. I learned a lot about gardening and will look forward to teaching others. I will keep you posted on the outcome as time progresses. While in the village of Kwandabele I had the opportunity to visit one of the adult hospices. Wow! What a sight?!? It was heart throbbing to see dying AIDs people. The sight was almost overwhelming, the residents were so emaciated. As I walked through the hospice the faces of some was that of anxiety and fear. I wondered what the thought process of a person who had a terminal illness was. I wondered if they had hope for the life to come. The reality of it all is that a person who has a terminal illness is no different from those who are seemingly healthy. We all have days that are numbered and we all have a judgment that awaits us. I must say the constant sight of poverty and the realities of death have been a bit sobering. As I see the effects of sin here in S. Africa I am reminded that “this life too shall past and only what’s done for Christ will last.” This simple yet profound statement has given me great perspective of the hope of a better life and a better promise.
This week
This week the children have been on school holiday. So they are a lot of children running around. I was asked to coordinate some activities for the children while they were out of school. Ahhh! I am so not creative. But, by God’s grace we played games and did some painting etc. They seemed to have had a lot of fun. This week I also had the opportunity to counsel a young lady. This woman that I counsel, like many women here, has a past of being severely abuse among other things. In the Scriptures we are taught about the Sovereignty of God. Yes, God is in control and He does indeed work out all things according to the counsel of His will. (Ephesians 1:11) This is a great truth, a truth that is easy to communicate to a person who has had a very normal and safe life. But, this week as I prepared for a session with this young lady who has suffered at the hands of a wicked man, I struggled to find a way to communicate God’s truth to her. How could I tell her that before the foundations of the world, God in His sovereignty has predestined every step of her life, both the good and bad. This was difficult, but God showed me mercy. As a biblical counselor and as a Christian, we have to answer those tough questions about God, sin and the world. What I love about the Scriptures is that it is sufficient for everything pertaining to life and godliness. (2nd Peter 1:3-4) So, I proceeded with caution and great compassion to tell her that God indeed is good and that He is not the author of sin, but that even in the midst of sin, He has a plan and a purpose for her life. I shared the famous verse that is so loved and cherished by many Christians, Romans 8:28-29. I shared that all things, both the good and bad works out for good…I shared that that good isn’t a life free of suffering, but instead it is a good that allows us to be conformed more and more into the image of Christ, who when He was revile did not revile in return and when He suffered did not utter any threats but kept entrusting Himself to the one who judges rightly. (1st Peter 2: 22-24) To this we were called as Christian, we are call to suffer. Wow! But, even in the midst of the heinous evil this world has to offer, we don’t just suffer, but we suffer well. We can count it all joy when we fall into trials knowing that the testing of our faith develops perseverance so that we may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4) We have the joys of fixing our eyes on a God who is infinitely powerful and infinitely good. The God who is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. No, God is not the author of sin! He had a great plan for mankind. The good news is that He still has a great plan for us, a plan that has been distorted because of the fall but not destroyed because of Christ. I take great hope in the disparities I see because the effects of sin lead me to gaze upon my Savior, who suffered the most heinous evil ever. (Acts 2:23) Please pray that I will be confident in the Scriptures and confident in the God who has breathed out His Word, despite the tragedies I see.
“Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest." Matthew 9:36-38
This week
This week the children have been on school holiday. So they are a lot of children running around. I was asked to coordinate some activities for the children while they were out of school. Ahhh! I am so not creative. But, by God’s grace we played games and did some painting etc. They seemed to have had a lot of fun. This week I also had the opportunity to counsel a young lady. This woman that I counsel, like many women here, has a past of being severely abuse among other things. In the Scriptures we are taught about the Sovereignty of God. Yes, God is in control and He does indeed work out all things according to the counsel of His will. (Ephesians 1:11) This is a great truth, a truth that is easy to communicate to a person who has had a very normal and safe life. But, this week as I prepared for a session with this young lady who has suffered at the hands of a wicked man, I struggled to find a way to communicate God’s truth to her. How could I tell her that before the foundations of the world, God in His sovereignty has predestined every step of her life, both the good and bad. This was difficult, but God showed me mercy. As a biblical counselor and as a Christian, we have to answer those tough questions about God, sin and the world. What I love about the Scriptures is that it is sufficient for everything pertaining to life and godliness. (2nd Peter 1:3-4) So, I proceeded with caution and great compassion to tell her that God indeed is good and that He is not the author of sin, but that even in the midst of sin, He has a plan and a purpose for her life. I shared the famous verse that is so loved and cherished by many Christians, Romans 8:28-29. I shared that all things, both the good and bad works out for good…I shared that that good isn’t a life free of suffering, but instead it is a good that allows us to be conformed more and more into the image of Christ, who when He was revile did not revile in return and when He suffered did not utter any threats but kept entrusting Himself to the one who judges rightly. (1st Peter 2: 22-24) To this we were called as Christian, we are call to suffer. Wow! But, even in the midst of the heinous evil this world has to offer, we don’t just suffer, but we suffer well. We can count it all joy when we fall into trials knowing that the testing of our faith develops perseverance so that we may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4) We have the joys of fixing our eyes on a God who is infinitely powerful and infinitely good. The God who is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. No, God is not the author of sin! He had a great plan for mankind. The good news is that He still has a great plan for us, a plan that has been distorted because of the fall but not destroyed because of Christ. I take great hope in the disparities I see because the effects of sin lead me to gaze upon my Savior, who suffered the most heinous evil ever. (Acts 2:23) Please pray that I will be confident in the Scriptures and confident in the God who has breathed out His Word, despite the tragedies I see.
“Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest." Matthew 9:36-38
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3 comments:
WOW!!! Amen and amen!!! I will say it again, AMEN!!! The Word of God is so good. It is evident that you have been with Him! I will pray that God will open this lady's eyes to the truth of His Word and that whe will rest knowing that all the days ordained for her were written in His book before one of them came to be. I miss you so much. I love when people can just speak the Word of God in a conversation like you did. I tried to call you twice today, but did not get through. I couldn't even leave a message. Boo hoo hoo! Sign in to yahoo messenger when you can and maybe we will catch each other that way. Bri Bri misses you too! I loved your post...I'm about to read it again. I especially love that you put in a shot out to 1 Peter! LOL!!! Love you and miss you terribly!
DANG! Thanka You Keisha for sharing with us your new BIBLE with commentary notes headed to a family Christian near you!!!!
AMEN SISTA!! that all I can say! AMEN indeed!!
miss you
why you had to quote all those peter verses for tay! LOL
Keisha that was so encouraging. I'm sure it's hard to communicate the realities of what you're seeing, but God is being so faithful to give you words to say and not just words to say but words to live by in a way you may not have been able to before you left. I'm so glad you have a blog and I can share in what you're learning. Praying for you.
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