Out of that pit!

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. This is one of my life verses. Last year, I was in a miry pit. I was stuck in the mud. I was feeling useless, missing the place where I had felt useful. Honduras. I didn't think that I could make a difference where I was. Maybe I just didn't want to. I called out to God, saying "Why did you give me this love, this longing for a place that I can't be?" And He listened patiently. Then He taught me. My youth group went on a missions trip to Chicago, and my eyes were opened wide. I met people who were hurting. badly. Homeless, hungry, without the light of Jesus. I heard about modern-day prostitutes living there, chained to a man who 'owned' them for his own pleasure. They had sold their life away, perhaps for money, perhaps for 'love', perhaps because they didn't value their life anymore. There was so much pain in this place, so close to home. I walked in a neighborhood where drug dealers lived. Where children's lives were always threatened. I met a woman, a woman who had grown up in this place. Who had a history full of pain and choices that led her down paths full of more pain and emptiness. She had succumbed to drugs, she was living in housing provided by the government for recovering addicts. And yet, she was making a difference in the lives of those who lived around her. She was spending herself for the kingdom, to help those who might've gone as far down those paths as she did. She shared the story of being shot with a bullet, and her miraculous survival. I was only in Chicago for a weekend, but my life really flipped around then. It was like a push from behind, God telling me that He wasn't satisfied with how I was living my life, telling me He had a lot of work for me to do here before I could go somewhere else to serve Him. He had so many children that needed love and attention, and I could be a part of it. I had the opportunity of praying with a Hispanic woman in Chicago in her own language. I know my grammar was terrible, but my heart was in it. God knew that I had a love for these people, but I wasn't ready yet to go all in. He had a lot to teach me. He was patient with me, preparing me for what He had planned for me. I'm amazed. I'm simply blown away how He put all the pieces in place, in His timing, in His perfect way. He pulled me out of that pit, and He's leading me along a new path. He's making my life a light to those who need it, here in the U.S. and soon in Honduras. And it's nothing I've done, it's all Him!! Thank You Yeshua!