Attractive Liberia

This is Lily.
When we were in Liberia we witnessed tremendous commitment to the calling that the Lord gave the workers for the children. In this war torn nation, urgent needs are a daily event. I don't feel free to speak directly about much of it, but the struggle to survive is out in the open. Watching the comings and goings, I was drawn to it. It was hard to leave, but not right for us at that time to stay. We are where we are supposed to be at the moment in Tipperary, Ireland.
Part of the attraction to Liberia is that it is easy to imagine a useful and clear-cut urgent purpose in work. In part, it is absorption of the purpose we have been given by God to fulfill on a daily basis that allows us to forget ourselves. Yet, it is not simply in activity alone, just complete involvement in each moment of life.
Once I had a dream that I was walking in nature with Jesus. I asked Him how it was that He was able to spare the time to be with me. He said that many people are busy doing for, but not being with Him. There I was, a nobody, all alone with the King of Kings!
Yet, it does not mean that we should read His word, pray, and then fail to do anything. Yes, we need time alone with Him, but we also need to do all that we are given as we listen to the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit within us. It's more like we are singing in harmony with our Savior. I can still do this even in Ireland, where the people are more comfortable and it is harder to reach out. I cannot afford to fail to listen to Him and walk in His love, even for a split second, for there is no love without Him, just darkness.
A man that Doug and I both like naturally, but who is a self-proclaimed atheist, wanted to know why we would adopt children when we can't solve all the problems of the world. Doug said something like he wants to save the two he can save. (Children without parents and handicapped do not have much hope for survival in Liberia.)
For as long as I can remember, I wanted to adopt children and imagined a big white house filled with children, most of whom were unwanted generally. It was a childhood dream and may never come true, but we have a start. Then I think to myself, how can I be good for this or much of anything and the verse comes to me about the one who loses his life only to get it back. “--and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:38-39

When I've been called to speak or sing before a group, if I start to allow vanity to take over and get too concerned about what somebody thinks of me rather than the purpose God has given me, it seems a lot like what happened to Peter, when he started to sink trying to walk on water.
Good performance in anything comes not from the outside in, but from the inside out. The wind is a distraction, and those of us who are weak, need to reach out like Peter did in Matthew 14 when he cried out, "Lord, save me!" It goes on to read: '--Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him.' Well, that’s something to think about. To go from day to day being a good Christian seems pretty challenging, but to go daily with the attitude of living each moment hand-in-hand with Jesus is uplifting. To give, in love, whatever we have to offer and allow it to flow out with the only concern being to please our creator is how we can lose ourselves.
It won't always keep a person from doing poorly or from being unfairly received, but at least we may perform our purpose in a more loving, precise, and focused manner with sincerity and a good conscience. Lily