How He Loves Us All

Six more days and we leave for Kenya!  It seems like the past few months have been a whirlwind of events.  Between leaving my job, moving out of our rental house, traveling for trainings, visiting family and friends and packing to leave, I often found myself at a loss for words. There have been some hard spots and some challenges, but, Heidi, Gilly and I have been so blessed over the past weeks by the out-pouring of love from the body of Christ.   

One of the truly bright spots on this journey was our Commissioning Service, last Saturday night, that was hosted by our Home Team.  It was amazing!  Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who attended, it was a blessing to us and extremely encouraging.  It was great to have a chance to see so many people before we leave for Kenya.  

Heidi, Gilly and I are now taking a few days to unplug, unwind and charge-up as we prepare to hit the ground running in Kenya.  We are visiting one of our favorite spots, the Florida Gulf Coast.  We love coming to the beach, it's peaceful, relaxing and a real sanctuary for us.  This time will help us emotionally, physically and spiritually prepare for the task ahead and it's a much needed reprieve.

So tonight, as I stand with my arms around my family, my toes in the sand and look out over the gulf, I praised Christ for the beauty of His creation.  Then, I became deeply saddened because something that is so cherished by my family will not be as accessible to us in just six days.  Then,  as I looked out over the waves, I heard Gilly singing “How He Loves” by David Crowder.   

I don’t know how long Gilly had been singing, but, I started listening when God wanted me to begin listening. (It was somewhere in the middle of the break.)

Then Heaven meets earth like an sloppy wet  kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don't have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about the way...

He loves us,
Oh, how He loves us,
Oh, how He loves us,
Oh, how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh, how He loves us,
Oh, how He loves us,
Oh, how He loves.

He does love us.  He loves us all, and I am looking forward to sharing the Good News with the unreached tribes of Kenya. I’m looking forward to that more than I look forward to putting my toes in the sand.  So, like the song says, "I guess I don’t have time to maintain my regrets when I think about the way He loves us all.".

Please be in prayer for my family as we make our transition to Kenya, refreshed, prepared, fully-charged and ready to share the love of Christ!