Early last week my team got back to base after spending two weeks living with one of our ministry hosts.  It was a great time, packed full of new ministries to be a part of and time to deepen relationships with the people involved in the church.  We still did all of our normal ministries, and we also had church services, youth group, a Beauty for Ashes event, and a variety of other things mixed in.  It was a much busier schedule and I loved it. 

On our first day there, Junior asked us to pray about a vision-word for our time with them.  We took a little bit of time to pray about it and I thought I was hearing ‘pour-out’, but I wasn’t sure yet.

That night when we went to church I could feel God moving.  I was very attentive and somehow became even more when I heard Chris, the speaker, say the word ‘pour-out’.  After the confirmation of that message, I started thinking about it more and it really started to have meaning for me.  

Because I’m a human, and therefore forgetful, ‘pour-out’ was a reminder for me about what I’m doing here in Guatemala and in general.  My purpose is to show up and pour-out God’s love on people. Love does not require perfection or a specific set of gifts.  I don’t need to be the one on stage preaching a sermon for the church.  I don’t need to communicate perfectly. I don’t need to be the one every kid runs to.  I don’t need to be the ‘best’ or the favorite. 

But I can be the one who sits with the kid sorting Connect Four instead of playing, because it makes her smile.  I can be the one carrying our ministry host’s kid and playing with him, so she can rest and be present during a house visit.  I can be the one listening intently to a woman speaking in a foreign language about her son’s passing and be the one who gives her a hug and prays for her.  

I was reminded of how important it is to give my all to the people I’m working with.  Recently, I have been meditating on Romans 13:8 which reads, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the Law.”  It’s challenging in the best way to think about the fact that we are constantly in debt, with the debt to love each other.  I owe it to God and to every person I meet to love them.  

Sometimes, genuinely pouring out love can be difficult when people seem unreceptive to it.  It’s a lot easier to slip into just getting by with a smile or a ‘buenas días’.  Butwhile those things are great, there’s a space between meeting someone with kindness or gentleness and actively pouring out love on them.  

Pouring out love tends to push me out of my comfort zone and challenge me to live more like Jesus.  But at the same time, it often results in much more peace overall as it satisfies a yearning to fulfill God’s will on my life.  And once again, my experience confirms that God’s way is always better.