Part Of Me

This past Monday I had the honor of being apart of a volunteer service with an organization called Water Gardens. Water Gardens works to supply either homless or struggeling people with things they need to get back on their feet. They cook meals for them and give free clothes and other nessecities like dishes or bed sheets. At night, men are able to sleep there. While I was there I had the highest privledge to meet a man named Derrick (forgive me I'm probably spelling his name wrong). Derrick is a regular at Water Gardens and speaks to everyone freely and opening about Christ. Within the first five minutes of hearing him speak I could just see his love for God and through his intellegence I could tell that he often thought about and spoke with the Lord. His understandings of issues in the Bible and in this world amazed me, I could seriously listen to him speak for hours.

At one point I was washing the dishes in the kitchen and Derrick came up to the counter in front of me. He asked me about my school and wether or not we had the regular accedemic classes. I told him we had no math classes but we were including some math in next semester as an option. He asked me if I was going to take that option. I laughed and said no, I was far to horrible at math to want to do that. He looked at me sternly and shook his head.

"Now Dakota," he told me. "You are made by Dad, you know that right?" I shook my head, transfixed by his seriousness. "Dad created us from Him. Everything He is, we are a part of. If you ever get into a situation where you need help, even if it's on a math problem, all you need to do is ask Dad for help. And guess what? He'll answer, He always answers His children."

My hands laid in the boiling hot soap water as I listened to this. This is something I've probabtly heard a million times while in church or class, but this man had put it so beautifully and with so much love and faith that my own love and faith in Jesus grew. At that moment I knew that God would give me anything I asked for and would help me through literally anything. Again, something I've always heard and told myself was true, but it hadn't become truth to me until that moment, when a man I had only met about 30 minutes prior spoke with his own belief behind the words.

I guess I have two points to this story.

The first one being that when we are doubtful of ourselves, or need help, we can always, ALWAYS, lean on God. We just mearly have to ask.

The second point being that when we speak of Jesus to others we need to have truth and love in the way we speak it. How will someone believe your words if you dont believe them yourself.

I am so beyond thankful that God sent me Derrik on that day to reassure me and give me wisdom to ponder on, and I can't wait to go back and hear more from a man loves God unconditionally and goes out of his way to speak the truth to totally strangers (sound familiar? ;))