Small Piece of You

Jesus replied, "foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head"

Up until this point in His ministry, Jesus had shown Himself to be a really great teacher. The crowds were gathering . . .itching to attend the "Mt. Olive A.D. 31" national conference.

 . .. That's when Jesus throws the whole "homeless" line in there. Little did the disciples know, Jesus was kind of serious about that whole "following me is hard" thing. When the disciples followed Jesus into the boat, they stepped into their first "trust test" . . .. another chance for Jesus to display His GLORY. Once again, Jesus pulled His followers away from the "temporary" and "comfortable" to the "real" and "eternal."

This has been the theme of the last month of my life.

Do you ever have an experience in which you try to soak in every detail so that you can lock it in your memory forever? I have been doing that constantly as of late. Two years ago, I left my home of 20 years to move to ISU for school. This something that everyone does, but for me, it was a big change. I was so afraid of change and heck, I liked right where I was. If it's not broke, don't fix it. I lived with my family whom I adored. I loved my church family. I was well fed, rested and all around balanced. 

But the LORD loved me too much to let me stay the way I was. He is always wanting to make me something that I am currently not. Yet He still loves me just as I am and not as I should be. While I was leaving Tremont with much morning and gnashing of teeth in Fall 2010, I am leaving Blono in Spring of 2012 with a bursting heart and tears of joy. 

I just really really love these people. In a recent SOMA video I watched, a pastor from Tacoma wept over his city. He called it "my city." He loved his people.

I have learned so much . . .have been given so much . . . have been grown so much amidst the people of Encounter, and it is all the doing of the LORD. I found my self trying to stop time for a moment as I stood in Capen auditorium for the last time. I wanted to remember every word of Pete's sermon. I wanted to remember everything he said on senior night. I wanted to remember every scrap of wisdom he shared tonight at senior dinner. I wanted to remember all of the advice Jo gave me. I wanted to remember every prayer at 7day prayer worship nights. I wanted to remember all the truth the LORD breathed into my life: every Einstein's chat, every constitution trail walk, every Lindenbrown late night chat. I wanted to remember every single face at Encounter and all the ways they had blessed me. It reminds me of Sara Groves' song "small piece of you" when she talks about not wanting her son to grow up.

I just want a small piece of you

A token to put in my pocket

And I will own that one thing

And it will make me happy

I love looking around at a room full of The Body and imagining where everyone will be in 5-10 years. One will raise orphans in the African slum of Mitumba, another will travel 11 countries in 11 months on mission, another is starting his own business for the glory of the kingdom. Some will be teachers . . . biology, math, deaf education, special education, early childhood education, elementary education, history education, physical education . .  some will be doctors and accountants and criminal psychologists. Most will be some of the best moms and dads I know. Some will go far away and some will stay very close. 

This has totally changed my concept of "home."

Where is home? The Son of Man has no place to rest His head. Why should I be any different? I am reminded more and more that my Home is eternal and it is not of this world. I am longing for the Promised Land beyond the crystal sea. We see in part and we prophesy in part . . . but when the PERFECTION comes . .the IMPERFECT DISAPPEARS. 

"This is a far country . . . not my Home"