I had an incredible weekend. I was surrounded by the love of God and the most amazing people He could have blessed me with. It is so incredibly exciting to see what He has planned for us all.
The purpose of this trip was a competition the team had in Georgetown and of course doing the tourist thing around the city of Austin. I had a wonderful time that came to its end much to quick for my personal preference. I really could have stayed longer if the opportunity had presented itself.
The truth is, the trip had a bigger purpose, God always has a bigger purpose. I could feel it coming together on the drive there even though I couldn't exactly figure out what it all was. I am very slowly coming into my God given gifts, but I could just feel it.
On Saturday night, after a long day of competitions with less than 6 hours of sleep, we decided to go out for a few celebratory drinks .[Well, not all of us drank, that is something that I have had to learn to leave behind. And then of course Amanda doesn't drink. Yay!]
It was the funniest thing though, I had the camera bag, which is a backpack and the bars refused to let me in. The street was crowded with all kinds of people but I wasn't about to surrender the camera to any bouncer who was just as drunk as anyone else and so, I decided to stay outside and just wait for everyone to have their drink. Michael and Amanda both offered to stand outside with me but truth was I wanted them to have fun and I told them to go. Only Amanda ended up staying outside with me in the end.
What happened after I had been standing outside for about 3-5 minutes was completely unexpected. I started to take notice of people, I mean real notice of their behavior and their clothes and even what they were smoking. So many young girls just stumbling about the street, barely dressed and too stoned to walk straight. It was an excellent opportunity to crack jokes and their expense and pass judgement, I mean seriously, they were begging for it.
And that was when I heard Him. God's voice as clear as I have ever heard him:
"My people are lost"
He kept repeating that to me. That His people were lost. That they were damaged and needing to be restored. There was no judgement in HIS voice. Just sadness. The heartbreak a parent feels when their pride and joy has been lost in one form or another. I recognize it well, it is the sadness that for years has lived in my grandparents voice when speaking of my father. My father isn't dead, at lease not in a dead and buried kind of way. If you go to my hometown in Puerto Rico you will see him. He is the homeless man who admittedly tells the world that he had ample opportunity to clean up his act but simply chose not to because he enjoyed the life of drugs too much. Its a choice made out of a lack of knowledge and a lack of real understanding of how God's heart hurts for those who are lost to the world. A choice made from an ignorant mind-frame by a person who simply doesn't understand that God can offer you a bigger high in life than any drug on earth.
For years Churches have preached religion and not relationship w God, I don't think they mean to spread the wrong message, I believe they simply do not know better because if they knew the TRUTH of God and what it truly is and means to have a relationship with Him, they wouldn't waste a minute teaching anything else.
It is up to us, the ones who have come to the understanding of God and His love for us the teach this to all who are willing to listen and learn. He is such a loving Father. He knew what I was thinking and how I was feeling about all of the people around me and yet He chose to correct me by showing me how He felt about His children and just how much He would have loved to have them all loving Him.
The price paid for all of our lives has been such, that we cannot afford to pick and choose who we want to bring on board and introduce the reality of God's love and grace.
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