Refuge.

 
In Psalm 59 the Lord is called the God of Jacob, our fortress, the Almighty, the One on whom I can rely, our deliverer, our strength, our shield, our love, our song, our refuge.
 
This God that fills every hole in our hearts, that breathes air into our lungs; the Almighty God that brings the sun to rise each day, and pulls mountains from the dust with His own hand.. this God that calls us His OWN beckons us into his love and wraps us in the shelter of His mighty wing.. this God desires to be our refuge, He longs to be our strength.. this God never leaves us or forsakes us, and when we see with His eyes, His beauty shines in every situation.

This week there was a point where I became extremely frustrated and discouraged for a few minutes. This week I took shelter under His wing and realized that I needed His strength and His truth to pour over me, because in reality I just wanted to go sit in a corner and cry.
 
This week there was a child that was disciplined at the school before my walk to the crèche in a way I absolutely couldn’t stand, and I saw every second of it. The thing about South African culture is that the older you are the “wiser” and more highly respected you are, so I couldn’t go in and take control of the situation without severely disrespecting my authority (whom the Lord calls us to respect and obey). I saw this happen and I had to just walk away after it.
 
I considered just going back, locking myself in a room somewhere and crying my eyes out while Jesus held me… but instead I decided to walk and talk it out with Him…
 
And that’s when beauty broke through…
 
It’s so easy to let the frustration of a situation take control of us and discourage us… but the Lord calls us to more than that. When we seek shelter and direction in Him, He fights for us. He brings us the strength in times of trouble and turns brokenness into beauty.
 
What He did for me that day was literally restore my fire… restore my fire to seek hope, restore my fire to show these kids the truth, restore my fire to love these babies with an absolutely unshakable love that 110% changes atmospheres the second you walk into a place.
 
My Refuge has made me a carrier of His Spirit. When I hold these babies in my arms, they’re not only held by me, but by the loving arms of Christ.. wrapped up in the shadow of His wing… safe.
 
For an update on the crèche… Jesus is there. SO so there. Days are hard sometimes, but day by day I am reminded of the excitement I have for who Jesus is. People, Jesus is just the bomb and I get so excited just talking about Him and thinking about Him yet alone LIVING for Him and truly being His hands and feet.
 
The babies are so good. I’m greeted every morning with little footsteps jumping up and down when I walk in the door. Everyone gets a “high five & pound it”, and This Little Light of Mine is immediately sung by Amelia while she shouts “hola!!” at me (thank you, Kevin). Tamika’s still trouble but she’s found a huge fondness for Kevin whenever He’s there with me… Chante is madly in love with Andrew…. Ashwin is madly in love with me (and me, him.) The atmospheres changed. They see love every day. They see hope every day. Jesus is there, Every day.
 
Thank you for all your support, there’s a crèche video that’s going to be posted to give you insight to days at the crèche in the first few weeks, and ways you can help.
 
The help/donations that have already been received have completely changed these children’s lives. Jesus has so much in store for these kids, and you can be a part of it. Thank you so so so so so much to those who have already helped, y’all have changed lives and completely inspired and uplifted me. I couldn’t do it without you.
 
Find peace in the Lord today, and when you’re frustrated and mad, when things just throw you off and you are so lost and far from hope, let Him speak to you. Let Him be your refuge. Let Him be your shelter. Let Him love you. Let Him take control of the situation and bring a whole new light to it.

Now here is how the Lord brings beauty into every situation… The Lord takes ashes and turns them into beauty… everywhere His spirit is there is promise and truth and beauty– even when it can't be seen by our human eyes.. but when we see with spiritual eyes, we see that the same Spirit lives in us… therefore everywhere we go, there is hope, there is light, there is promise, there is beauty and refuge.
 
Be encouraged, be bold, be blessed. 🙂