If I were to put together a 3 point sermon these would be my points, but I am not. I have been sitting, praying and reflecting on my friends who faithfully wear the yellow shirts that are the hallmark of Whitehall Summer Ministry Team. I cannot tell you why but so many of these young people have allow me to have access to their lives and I am the better for it. These young people love Jesus and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit even in the most difficult situations. They are quick to forgive and eager to lavish affection on those they love and even those they don't yet know.
This year the color yellow for me became the personification of the Body of Christ as God intended it to be. They don't always get it right. They are people and young at that, but they listen patiently and allow the Word of God to shape them. I am blessed beyond measure to be loved by them.
I have laughed until my sides have ached with cramps. I have lived in their midst and seen their hearts for God and for each other. I have loved them like my own. I am confident that the time we have spent building the foundations of relationships this summer is merely the beginning of lifelong friendships. The weeks we have spent walking around this world together this summer have left footprints on my heart and changed the landscape of my life.... forever.
But isn't that exactly what God expects from our lives and relationships? Jesus walked the countryside for three years with his friends.... loving, living and laughing. And when it was over, He had left indelible marks on the land, and on the hearts and minds of his friends, so much so that they soon began a movement that changed the world, FOREVER.
Never take for granted the people that God has ordained to cross your paths. Each and every person who comes into your life is a child of God, created in HIS image. They each are special, and unique in a way that cannot ever be duplicated by another. Treat each as a gift and treasure those who God ordains to be in your life. He has sent them to you for your benefit!
We are the ones who are blessed when we love passionately, live vibrantly, laugh with abandon with those who God introduces to us. I will never again look at the color yellow without feeling the rush of passionate living I have felt this summer. And thanks to this techo-age we live in we are never further than the "enter" button away form each other! I am blessed to have had this summer to begin a lifetime of friendships with this amazing group of people.
Thank you Jesus for blessing us with a community of sisters and brothers who love and support us regardless of time or space. Thank you for giving us a glimpse of heaven and a reflection of the love you have for us in the people you place in our lives. May you abundantly bless those who are willing to be transparent and love others unreservedly as you have loved us.
~in HIS Service, Ch
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